


Ultimately

by Milanesa42069



Category: Underworld Office (Visual Novel)
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Luke's POV, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Smut, THEY HOLD HANDS MOST OF THE TIME, The kids will probably be in there too, slightly OOC, the ghosts like to gossip
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:08:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28332870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milanesa42069/pseuds/Milanesa42069
Summary: What about falling in love with a mysterious boy who appeared in your dreams? Is he even real? He looks like an ethereal figure. He never would have thought that the silent boy was way more interesting than he seemed.After Eugene appeared on another of his dreams, Luke started to question things, like the sudden urge of grabbing his hands, or the warm feeling in his chest every time he saw the hooded boy.And also, what is that office he talks about so much? Will Eugene tell him?
Relationships: Eugene/Luke
Comments: 48
Kudos: 146





	1. You really should stop dreaming about me

He had never met anyone so unique. In the afternoon of the same day, he had seen this boy sitting at his desk, quiet and pensive, with that equally strange mysterious air. He never spoke to anyone, did not have outstanding grades, and generally seemed like a plain person. Or so he thought.

That's why he did not know what to expect when that same night, in his dreams, that boy appeared and with a disinterested gesture helped to satiate his mind and help him reconnect with his beloved pet. Kitty was (and is) Luke's precious pet, and thanks to that hooded boy he managed to get a goodbye and thus be able to sleep in peace.

It was strange, or so Luke thought, to go back to school the next day like nothing, trying to ignore that boy who just hours ago had helped him in such a way. How would he react? He had never felt intimidated when talking to anyone, he never understood the problem of talking to people, whether they were strangers or lifelong friends, but nevertheless Luke found himself seeing that boy while he was hidden behind the door of the class. What would he say? Normally people don’t tell others that they appeared in their dream, it could be misinterpreted, but he usually didn't care, so, steeling himself he went to the boy and took him out of the class to talk. To his surprise, the hooded boy admitted having been in his dream and promised not to tell anyone, or in his words “I would have no one to tell”. It was there that he remembered the loneliness of that boy, and it was there that he began to consider him as a friend.

From that moment on they began to hang out together, to become friends. Eugene really seemed like a good person who was easy to talk to, he usually didn't say much, but what he said was usually interesting. Luke didn’t know when did he began to notice everything the brunette said, from his little stutters, to the strange office in which he worked and often mentioned. He didn’t know when it was that at the same time, that boy began to open up more to him. Going home together talking nonsense, spending time in the park watching the children play and also having conversations with Oliver and Joy who also seemed to start to like the boy.

But his vision of him never changed, for Luke Eugene was a reserved and mysterious boy, introverted and quiet, and mildly paranoid. It was then that that image of him was totally destroyed. From one moment to the next he found himself fleeing from a psychopathic murderer down the street, and moments later he found himself watching with great amazement as that boy took a cane out of the air and with total courage began to hit the man, defending both of them. Standing in front of Luke and protecting him from that man.

And suddenly he didn't see him the same way anymore. Suddenly Eugene became a hero, his hero. And of the locked-up children, sure, but for some reason he liked to think he was his hero. His.

Luke never decided to ask what was that shadow that appeared at the most precise moment, that made the man stumble. He didn’t ask about the sudden reaction of the cats or the materialization of a cane. Eugene was beginning to seem like an ethereal figure; He appeared in his dreams, materialized things from the air, controlled the shadows ... Honestly, Luke didn't understand anything, but it was that kind of mysterious air that made him want to know the boy better and hope that one day there will be no more mysteries or secrets between them.

Perhaps a part of Luke hoped that the paranormal things about the hooded boy would end, not because he particularly disliked them, but because he really didn't know what else to expect. Nevertheless when he returned home from that eventful day and began to sleep waiting for a dream with Kitty, with his friends, idols or even a dream with no special meaning; He saw the boy in glasses again. But something seemed different this time.

This time Eugene had his clothes in his usual color compared to the first time he appeared in his dreams where his clothes had softer ones. And unlike the first dream, this one felt less real, it felt like a normal dream.

He could see Eugene, the faint reflection of himself in the boy's glasses, and hear his soft voice, accompanied by his usual stutters. "He looks happy," Luke thought, as Eugene had a big smile on his face. The boy's light brown hair moved slightly as he began to approach Luke with outstretched arms, leading in a hug. Ah but what a pleasant feeling, the soft embrace of the shortest boy, being almost immediately reciprocated by the one in the orange hoodie. A gentle hug. Luke could keep the embrace for a lifetime, or that was what was on his mind at the moment.

The embrace was broken, causing the taller one to finally focus on his surroundings and causing him to finally realize that he was standing in a large open field, with some daisies in the grass and the sun just above them. The sky, celestial and only obstructed by a few clouds. It was a beautiful place, a beautiful landscape, beautiful flowers, and a beautiful companion. They both lay down on the grass, looking up at the sky and into the clouds while Luke tried to make out some shape, which seemed to never come because after all, it was a dream. Luke's partner, silent, sat up while looking at him. A look unable to read, mysterious, but with a strange sense of warmth. This gaze was reciprocated making the one with darkest skin sit next to him as they both maintained intense eye contact.

-"I feel like there's something you want to tell me"- Luke spoke, not breaking eye contact.

-"What do you think it is?" - Eugene said without stuttering.

-"Why don't you just tell me?" -

-"I feel like it's you who should tell me something." - Eugene tilted his head slightly when he spoke.

-"What makes you think that?" -

Eugene laughed, looking away and turning his head.

-"You really should stop dreaming about me"-

And then Luke woke up.


	2. Bouquet of lilies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke just went to get flowers but he ended up touch starved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to clarify, These events happen after the good ending where Eugene keeps working at the office, Sorry if it wasn't clear!  
> (Also yaay longer chapter)

He woke up with a warm feeling in his chest, the more he regained consciousness, the more he remembered the dream he came out of, his cheeks began to redden and his thoughts went crazy.

Thinking of the soft fictional hug was enough to make him sigh and embrace himself, hoping to recreate that touch in some way. It was then that he began to question: Was that Eugene? the real Eugene? The boy had already appeared in one of his dreams, but in that case it was to help him with Kitty; What would be the objective of this visit? After all in this case the hooded boy didn't seem to have helped him at all. Actually, now that he thought about it, that person in his dreams did not resemble the hooded boy at all, the real Eugene gave off a friendly and paranoid aura, backed by his characteristic stutters and his way of being, instead in his dream the boy seemed more calm yet mysterious, without his stutters he didn't seem to be the same person though.

That's why Luke didn't question it, he didn't ask that boy if the hug that night was real or not.

When Luke stepped into that class the day after that psychopathic man was arrested, he could see Eugene differently, he looked happier in some way, and also somewhat more sure of himself, because that morning he was talking to Joy even though Oliver seemed not to have arrived yet. This fact caused a small smile to form on Luke's lips as he made his way to his seat and joined the conversation, thinking about how far his friend had come since he met him. However, throughout the day Luke found himself glancing at Eugene to see if any body movement or some kind of glance in his direction could make him realize that Eugene knew, that yesterday's touch in his dream was real and that Luke was saved by his friend once more. However, that look never came, and his movements were limited to doing the math equations that the teacher had given.

\--

It had been a while, a few weeks to be exact, since that incident with the man, since that chase, and since the night of Luke's dream with Eugene, or the first of all.  
Luke's dreams were usually uninteresting, most of the time he forgot what they were about and when he did they were usually quite "normal", such as dreaming about an old friend or one of his idols. However, lately his dreams were almost always centered on that hooded boy.

Most of the time they were both in completely exotic but beautiful settings, like a beautiful magical beach, surrounded by sand in front of the sea; in the middle of some high mountains above the clouds thus leaving an incredible view; or in the setting of the first dream surrounded by grass and daisies. In each dream they both simply lay down to enjoy the atmosphere, without saying a word. They were quite peaceful dreams, he had to admit, they made Luke have a good night's rest and wake up refreshed and full of energy, somehow seeing a calm Eugene surrounded by a beautiful landscape was something that filled him with calm.

But Luke couldn't stop looking at him.

Although he had spent more than 8 hours in a row watching the boy who was now right next to his desk, it did not feel the same way as seeing him in real life. He could not take his eyes off that boy with glasses who with an expression of absolute confusion looked at the blackboard full of numbers and letters, he could not stop looking at the way he moved the pencil, the way his face calmed down when he seemed to begin to understand the professor's explanation, and the way in which after an indefinite time he was startled by the bell that indicated the recess.

-"Damn! I didn't understand anything!" - Joy was the first to speak exalting everyone.

-"Me neither... since when does mathematics have numbers? It's not like any of this is actually used in real life"- Oliver kept complaining

-"I didn't really understand either... At first I was... quite confused, but after a while... I understood some things"- When Eugene began to speak and then looked at Luke, he got nervous and looked away at Joy.

-"You should teach us Eugeneeee! I really didn't understand anything, math is not my thing"-

-"To be honest, no subject "is your thing" - Joy answered Oliver.

And so they both began to fight amicably while Eugene laughed slightly at the two of them, but the only thing that was in Luke's head was how cute the hooded boy looked as he tried to hide his laugh by covering it with his hand.

-"Hey Luke! What are you thinking?" - After Joy said that, all eyes were on him.

-"It’s... it’s true that today you are somewhat silent, Luke"- Eugene said.

The orange-hooded boy was startled by those comments, causing his cheeks to redden slightly and to straighten up in his chair to hide it -"Ahh it's nothing guys I guess I slept badly yesterday"- he said with a forced laugh.

-"Oh nooo!!" - Oliver answered dramatically -"Please don't be the nightmares again"-

-"Yes please those days you were in such a bad mood that I was afraid that you would explode or something"- Joy added

-"Don't worry guys I'm sure it's nothing, I probably slept in a bad posture or something…"-

And although the conversation ended moments later, Luke could see the look of mild concern that Eugene gave him, causing Luke's heart to skip a beat and that feeling of warmth return to his chest and cheeks.

Days used to go by quickly lately, probably because he spent most of his time at school looking at the boy next to him, so he wasn't surprised to find himself almost completely alone at the end of the day as Joy and Oliver said their goodbyes to leave to their houses, leaving Luke and Eugene last in the classroom as well as the teacher who was grabbing his things and left the classroom key in the table before leaving, reminding the boys to lock it when they leave.

-"You… you were a bit quiet today"- Eugene said as he put his things in his backpack.

-"I probably slept badly, or something"-

-"You know… if you have nightmares again, you can tell me, right?" - The boy approached Luke's desk.

-"Yes I know… but seriously, it's nothing"- Luke answered closing his backpack -"Do you wanna go home together?" -

-"Sure... but I have to stop by the flower shop to buy flowers for a friend"-

-"Oh? What’s the occasion?" -

-"It's his birthday... and I’m sure those flowers will remind him of his mother"- He answered in a somewhat sad tone, as they closed the classroom and went to the entrance of the school.

-"His mother? Is she...?"-

-"Something... something like that"-

-"Well, then if you want I can go with you, after all the flower shop it’s on our way"- Luke said with a smile, and hoping to spend more time with Eugene.  
There was silence until they crossed the entrance and began to walk in which Luke still couldn't take his eyes off the boy next to him, who seemed oblivious to those stares.

-"And... where do you know this friend from?" - Asked the taller boy, remembering that Eugene was not the most sociable person and that many times he had told him that he had no friends.

-"Oh… he's from the office, his name is Sean"-

-"Really? And how long have you been friends?" -

-"Well… not long ago really…" -

The boys were doing small talk, but internally Luke kept asking himself about that strange office, Eugene had never spoken extensively about it, the only thing he had told him was that it is extremely dangerous and that people are nice, and to his knowledge the hours he worked there were pretty confusing.

Just before reaching the flower shop, Eugene stopped and glanced slightly at Luke.

-"Uhmm... Luke, you know that talking to people is something... difficult for me, right?" -

The darker skinned boy let out a little laugh- "Yes, I remember you didn't talk to me or anyone before, why?" -

-"Well, to be honest, I brought you here to be my moral support? I'm sorry, I know it's kind of silly"- Eugene looked down at the floor a bit embarrassed, and Luke's cheeks lit up slightly at the great idea that crossed his mind.

Luke took Eugene's hand gently as he looked at him smiling. -"Don't worry! I'll be at your side"- Eugene smiled at the gesture and they entered the flower shop.

They ran into Linda, who recognized them from the incident, they talked a bit after that but it seemed like Eugene wasn't feeling comfortable enough anyway. The lady was someone very sweet and kind, who smiled when she saw the boys enter the shop. In almost a whisper and while holding Luke's hand Eugene asked for a bouquet of white lilies.

-"Oh, but what beautiful flowers! My son used to love them"- Linda said with a nostalgic tone, Eugene had a look that Luke was unable to read. -"Are they for a gift? Do you want me to label the bouquet?" -

-"No, thanks…"-

And after paying for the bouquet they left the place and Eugene gave a sigh of relief, still holding Luke's hand who clearly was aware of the touch but didn't want to let go, so Luke took advantage of the boy's moment of distraction and kept holding it. subtly.

-"Th… Thanks Luke… although it was easier than I thought, Linda is very nice!" - He said as they started walking again, still holding hands. Eugene sniffed the flowers gently and seemed quite pleased after turning his face away. -"Do you want to smell?" -

Luke nodded and brought his face closer to the bouquet of flowers, it really smelled good.

-"Wow ... I've never smelled a lily, it smells really good"-

Eugene gave him a small smile which was reciprocated. -"Here"- said the shorter one, taking one of the flowers from the bouquet and handing it to the boy next to him.

-Are you giving it to me? -

-"Of course!... It's just a flower, I don't think Sean will care, also it seemed you really liked it... but it's fine if you don't want it..." - Eugene offered the flower shyly, and this gesture was enough of him to make Luke's heart skip a beat.

He accepted the flower with flushed cheeks and held it with his free hand, with the other he subtly squeezed his friend's hand, causing him to glance at their intertwined hands and quickly pull his own away.

-"I'm sorry! I didn't realize... "- Eugene looked away and Luke internally cursed himself for drawing attention to his hands, missing the feeling and the warmth of his hand with his.

-"It’s… okay! It doesn't bother me"-

-"Are you sure...?" - Eugene's face denoted concern, but Luke found the scene somewhat hilarious so a laugh began to come from his mouth.

-"It's really nothing, don't make that face"- Eugene joined in the laughter and they were both laughing in the street.

As they were laughing they came to the park where they usually talk and sit on the swings. The children seemed not to be there that day so somehow it felt lonely, quieter.

-"I really hope Sean likes these flowers… I had to ask Hayden what his favorites were…" -

-"I'm sure he will like them! they smell very good..." - The doubt was still in Luke's mind, what was the office? He didn't understand the schedules, the kind of people that worked there, didn't even understand what he was supposed to do in the office. But would Eugene tell him? -"And… Hayden also works in the office or…?" - Luke tried to subtly enter the conversation, making it seem as normal as possible.

-"Yes! Hayden is one of the... most sociable people in the office, that's why I asked him for help..." -

-"Oh… Everyone in the office seems to be very friendly"-

-"They are! I got used to the work quickly... and they help me whenever they can!" - Eugene spoke with an excited tone in his voice and a smile on his face, this made Luke feel happy for his friend, and made him want to be part of it, he wanted to be part of his life.

-"Someday could you take me there...? if you want?" -

Eugene seemed surprised -"Well… I don't know… it starts a little late but… I could ask the boss I guess, I would like you to meet the others!" -

For some reason Luke wasn't expecting this answer, he probably expected him to be more secretive about the office, or use some silly excuse not to let him in, but Eugene seemed fine with him going to the office. Maybe after all it’s just a normal job and what Luke thought were just fantasies, maybe the shadow that caught the man was nothing more than some person passing through the right place, maybe the cats reacted that way because the man attacked them or something like that, and maybe there was a cane on the street that Luke hadn't seen.  
Maybe he needed glasses.

-"Really I can go? Wow! I will finally meet your friends!" -

They both smiled and talked until dusk, they could begin to see the moon and the stars appear little by little. Luke didn’t dare to continue asking about the office, he felt that he had already advanced enough for that day, so they began to talk about trivial things such as the fact that Luke's sister wanted to adopt another cat, although the boy still didn't feel ready after Kitty.

From one moment to the next Eugene was saying goodbye with his bouquet to give it to Sean and Luke stayed on the swing watching the stars become increasingly brighter as the sky darkened.

He still felt the touch of Eugene's hand in his, he remembered the warmth of that touch and compared to the embrace of that dream he had weeks ago, the feeling was incomparable. Although it wasn't the same kind of touch, touching his real hand felt a thousand times better than the hug in his dream.

-"I really want to hug him"-

Nobody heard it. There was no one who could hear it, but saying it out loud for some reason felt wrong. He still didn't understand what that feeling was, he had never felt that way with anyone, not even with Oliver or Joy who were his greatest friends. He didn't understand, and he didn't know if he wanted to understand. 

That is why he allowed himself to speak his thoughts out loud, in solitude, where no one could hear him and judge.  
Or so he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, english is not my first language so please let me know of any grammar mistakes! I really appreaciate that


	3. But on the other side...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have you ever been to a ghost party? Neither has Eugene!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time I chose to make an Eugene's pov. This will probably be the only chapter where this happens, so expect to have Luke on chapter 4!

This time it took Eugene a long time to get to sleep...

It didn't help that he’d returned home long after the sun set and the moon began to rise, or that on the way home after saying goodbye to Luke he was distracted by the beautiful glow that the stars began to emanate after the sky was almost completely dark. But what actually caused him to fall asleep at about 2 a.m. was a feeling he couldn't hide that was consuming him inside. This feeling was already familiar, but it was enhanced by not being able to detach his mind from how tender his friend looked while smelling those flowers that are now in a cup full of water, in front of a window in the kitchen.

A sigh. Two sighs. Three sighs were those that came out of his mouth that night. Eugene was overwhelmed by the sudden butterflies in his stomach, so dinner was not an option. The only thing the boy could do that night was lie on his bed to think about how empty his hand felt after holding Luke's for so long.

That overwhelming feeling was what made it so hard for him to sleep. Blaming himself for feeling that way and cursing those nonexistent butterflies that he could swear were fluttering in his stomach. Exhausted by his own mind, he took the bouquet of lilies and the flower Sean gave him to protect his body. In just minutes he could already feel that strange ghostly sensation and his body lighter, holding that bouquet of flowers in his hand.

He turned his body slightly to the left and almost jumped from the fright that caused him to see the completely black shadow outside his window, it was Boss.  
As soon as that shadow recognized that the boy had noticed his presence, he approached him and in his distinctive dry tone began to speak to him.

-I see you took your time. -

It was then that the boy realized the time after he saw the clock hanging on his wall… "1:46 a.m." and frowned in an expression of surprise.  
-"I... I'm sorry! I didn’t realize it was so late..." -

Boss was silent for a moment, before walking over and sitting down on Eugene's bed.

-"It's really strange coming from you, the latest you had gotten to bed was at 11 o'clock"- That black ghost was now looking at the boy.

-"Although I can see why it was, you were with Luke and you came back late, right?" - Boss didn’t seem to be angry now that Eugene heard his tone, sometimes it was difficult to know what the ghost was feeling thanks to the lack of facial expression and that monotonous tone in his voice.

But the hooded boy had just processed what he had told him, how did he know?

-"Were you spying on me?!"-

Now he could see how the ghost's expression changed to one of apparent surprise, his eyes had opened a little, but the silence he left before answering seemed to give him away.

-"Not really... I had gone to the flower shop with Hayden for Sean's birthday, when we found you with Luke holding a bouquet of lilies, we followed you to... make sure you came home safely and then we left"-

Eugene didn't know what to say. On one hand he was surprised and slightly angry that they were literally being spied on, but on the other he was mortified to think about how the scene might look like from the outside; they were holding hands while smelling flowers, damn it! He couldn't blame him if they misunderstood something, especially Hayden.

-"Though I'm not here to talk. Clearly we will not punish you for your delay since after having your debt paid you choose to work in the office for free, and also today we’ll go to Sean's party, but I do ask you that the next time you let us know beforehand that you’ll sleep late so I don’t stay in your window for 4 consecutive hours." - Eugene could notice the slight tone of sarcasm that was heard through his monotonous and dry voice.

-"I... I'm sorry! It will not happen again"- Now Eugene was embarrassed, Boss had seen him sigh for 4 hours in his bed, hopefully he couldn’t read his mind.

Somehow he was grateful that it was Boss, if we were talking about River or Hayden they would definitely misunderstand or ask more questions, but that black ghost didn't seem to want to extend the conversation any longer than necessary.

-"But… what were you doing in the flower shop anyway? Will we celebrate his birthday there?" -

Boss got up from the bed and went to the window with a slight smile on his face

-"Let's say you weren't the only one who thought of bringing him flowers"-

Eugene gave a little laugh, lately Boss opened up more towards him, even if he is quite dry and stoic, he seemed to have a soft spot for younger souls, sometimes he was like that with Hayden as well.

The ghost extended one of his hands towards Eugene which the boy took quickly, he didn't want to miss any more of Sean's party.

-

When Eugene arrived, he could feel that he’d been a little late for the party, it was a reunion that several ghosts had organized for that flower-loving ghost. It was no secret that Sean was a kind soul and that it was that kindness that caused ghosts to approach him and therefore meet and be friends with many of them.

The party was relatively small, it was organized in what seemed to be an abandoned ballroom decorated by colored lights, confetti, and many, many flowers where it said with a big label the word "gifts", this made Eugene feel kind of bad because of his unoriginal gift, nevertheless Sean seemed genuinely grateful for the gift, they were the only real flowers for him since he had bought them directly from his mother.

Among the dozens of ghosts that Eugene could not recognize, he found the usual group from the office talking to each other and to some unknown ghosts.

-"Hey Eugene! What took you so long?" -From her place River was yelling at Eugene who was sneaking among the ghosts right next to Boss trying to not attract attention.

Before the boy could answer, Hayden spoke first: -"He was with that boy Luke… Eugene! You should spend more time with us! you can see that mortal whenever you want but you only get to hang out with us at night! It's also Sean's party!"- Hayden was doing one of his trademark tantrums along with a frowning face but with a secret friendly tone, over time Eugene learned to read his facial gestures and understand that Hayden didn't really get mad.

-"In my time children were more punctual! They couldn't be late anywhere! How is it that with those cell phones and computers you can't see the time?! In my times I had to measure the distance from the sun to the earth..." - Joan, as always, complained about the behavior of "today's young people", and actually, she had a point.

-"I... I'm sorry! I was kind of distracted today..." -

And after Eugene had spent part of the night apologizing and making excuses, the spirit (get it?) Of the party returned to the place and from one moment to the other everyone was laughing and talking.

The ghost parties were really kind of weird, there were no drinks or food, and the music varied constantly, from very old music to hits from the 70's. It wasn’t unexpected considering that most of the ghosts present seemed not to be the youngest.

The night passed relatively quickly for Eugene, always glued to those with familiar faces and trying to make the minimum social exchange with those new ghosts who wanted to start a conversation with the only mortal present, why didn’t he think that this would happen? It wasn’t normal to see a mortal outside his body. Fortunately having Boss around made many of the interested ghosts intimidated by his mere presence.

After the party was over, the 6 ghosts returned to the office, Sean had easily over a thousand flowers in his hands.

-"You should just throw them away, you know?" - River told him.

-"I can’t do that! I can't discard gifts!" - Sean replied defensively, sometimes Sean seemed to be too nice.

-"Although I still don't see the point of celebrating your birthday! You are already dead! You aren’t celebrating anything! You can’t age If you’re dead!, for example I don’t even remember when my birthday was"- Hayden continued.

As the ghosts talked, Eugene was looking for a way to ask Boss what Luke had asked him hours ago, could he bring him to the office? Make him come off his body? The boy knew he should ask Sean for the flower, but he should still ask Boss for permission, who was leaning against the wall admiring the energetic conversation the other ghosts were having.

-"Hey... Uhm... Boss?" - He didn't know how to start the conversation, maybe he should have asked Hayden or River to help him with this but now it was too late.  
Boss just looked at him with a monotonous expression, indicating that Eugene had his attention.

-"Well... Uhmm... Today I was talking to Luke... And I was wondering if he maybe..." -

-"No."-

Before Eugene could finish his sentence, Boss's voice cut him off dryly.

-"What?! What are you…?" -

-"You forgot that we followed you? I was waiting for you to ask, and the answer is no"-

So he was spying on him! It was one thing to see someone you know pass by, and another to listen to their conversations! Although Eugene would not tell him that, it was not the time since he was also seeking his approval.

-"Right, but… why… why not?" - He said somewhat disappointed, but still not giving up.

The ghost took a few seconds to answer, as if he were trying to formulate the answer.

-"Does he know about the ghost part?"-

-"What?" -

-"Does he know that this is not a "normal" office?" -

-"What… No… Not really…" -

-"The world of mortals and ghosts should not collide, who knows if your friend after knowing how to become a ghost tells other mortals? You on your own caused us enough problems as it is the first time you came, imagine if hundreds of humans tried to do it." - Boss became silent before adding; -"It’s just very risky"-

-"B... But Luke wouldn't do any of that! I ... I trust him a lot and I know he would keep the secret! Besides... I still owe him an explanation about... about how I appeared in his dreams because of Kitty"-

Boss's few facial features made it look like he had raised an eyebrow.

-"A... also, it's not like people would believe him if he tells anybody... Nobody believes in ghosts anymore these days..." -

After seeing that Boss didn’t answer and continued with that same expression, Eugene added; -"Just for One Night! If something goes wrong we could make it seem like it was just a dream or something like that... right?" - Eugene was really trying to be persuasive, he wanted Luke to be a part of this, that he could meet his other friends and be a part of this side of his life.

The ghost sighed.

-"Well… I can't say no to that face." - Eugene could see a slight smile on his ambiguous facial features. -"But only for one night"-

After thousands of thanks to Boss and a big smile from the boy, the ghost went to Sean and asked for another of his guardian flowers, which was given to Eugene.

-"You must return this the next day, when do you plan to bring the boy?" -

-"Uhh… tomorrow? Don’t tell anyone! I want it to be a surprise..." -

The ghost nodded, Boss was quite secretive enough on his own, one more secret would be easy for him to keep.

Eugene could see Sean dubiously approaching them, having left most of his flowers scattered around the office.

-"Eugene? Why did you want another of my guardian flowers?" -

-"His flower was breaking, he needed a new one"- Boss interrupted, saving Eugene who would probably be the worst liar in the world.

-"Huh? Oh! Yes... Yes... that's... definitely… that's what happened... definitely…"-

Boss sighed in resignation. After a few more minutes in which Eugene spoke to everyone and had a good time, he decided to go home because it was already dawn.

The next day at his side on the bed he didn’t find that bouquet of lilies, but he did find a peculiar flower in his hand, similar to the one he held on his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also want to thank everyone for the support! This is my first story in english after all. That's why if you see any grammar mistakes i would appreciate if you could write down a better way to express it.  
> And since I won't be uploading any more chapters this year I want to wish everyone a Happy New year! I know this year has been hard and thank god it's over.  
> See you in 2021!


	4. A change of colors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How can you blush while being a ghost? You don't have any blood...  
> Whatever, now they can.

\- "So... What time do you usually go to sleep?"-

Luke looked at him with a face of surprise, as he let out a laugh - “What?! Dude, what is that about?"-

They started talking a few minutes ago, the day at school was nothing out of the ordinary and both boys seemed to have been concentrating on their studies, and well, Luke also spent the day concentrating on looking at the boy with glasses who was now staring at him. He looked expectantly, waiting for an answer to his unexpected question.

-"Why do you want to know what time do I sleep?"- The boy in the orange hoodie still didn't understand the importance of the question, he wouldn't mind revealing his sleep schedule, it's just that the question was so unexpected and without context that it even scared him.

Eugene swayed slightly on the swing as he looked away and tried to rephrase the question.

-"Well... If I want to take you to the office ... you should tell me what time you are going to sleep"-

The office? That was it? He hadn’t mentioned the place at any time at school, Luke had even forgotten after spending the day appreciating that lily his friend gave him, still thinking about the soft touch of his hands that happened the day before. So the return of this topic was something unexpected for him.  
Meanwhile Finley and Tantum were playing in the park, Luke was not paying attention to them so he couldn’t exactly tell what they were doing, only that they occupied the silence in the park and made it somewhat more comfortable.

\- “Ehm… So I guess at 10 p.m.? I don't know, dude, I don't have a set schedule. I only sleep when I'm sleepy… What does this have to do with going to the office?"-

-"At 10 o’ clock?... ”- Eugene seemed lost in thought, paying less attention to the children than usual which was unusual of his. - “Then we’ll do that! Today you’ll sleep at 10 o'clock, don't forget it."-

Luke was struck by Eugene's sudden assurance, barely stuttering and determinedly giving him a strange order. He couldn’t refuse after seeing him act in such a way, a smile became visible on his lips after observing him, seeing a determined Eugene was not something common so he decided not to waste the moment and keep that mental image to himself, appreciating each one of the small details at the moment, from his disheveled hair, to his determined face.

-"Well... whatever you say"-

-"Oh! And take this flower too.”- Eugene held out a flower, it was unlike any other flower he had ever seen before; It was mostly white and somewhat lily-like, but there was something about the flower that didn't seem normal.

But hey! Eugene had given him a flower? Luke's cheeks started to redden as he waited for an explanation from the boy next to him...

-"You have to sleep with this flower in your mouth..." -

...But the feeling of butterflies in his stomach dissolved after Eugene said that.

What?!

-"What ?!"- In his surprise Luke began to laugh, thinking that it was some kind of joke, this seemed to crumble all the courage and determination that his friend had shown all afternoon, causing him to show a face of regret.

\- “I… I'm sorry! I know it's something... something strange to ask... but seriously just do it! I promise it has a purpose..."-

Luke's laugh faded little by little after noticing that no, it was not a joke, Eugene really expected him to go to sleep at 10 p.m. with a flower in his mouth. He didn’t know what to say. As he took that flower in his hands carefully, he could appreciate that face of determination on his friend again, he was not going to disappoint him.

-"Well... I can do it, it doesn't seem very difficult..." - He said as he carefully kept the flower in his backpack.

-"Great! Then you go to sleep at 10 o'clock with that flower in your mouth!"-

The rest of the afternoon passed quite quickly, Eugene played a while with the children while Luke watched them, after the children had left, Eugene and Luke talked about other trivial things; like homework or those silly things they both did in their spare time. Luke was still somewhat confused by the request from earlier, but he was so distracted by that boy in front of him that he didn't pay much attention until night came and he was in his room about to sleep.

What was he supposed to do?

He was going to do what Eugene told him, so he took the flower after brushing his teeth and tried to put it in his mouth, before realizing that he had never really done anything like that and regretted not asking for more detailed instructions. How should he do it? Should he bite the flower? Take it by the stem? Swallow it? Perhaps the way to do it was irrelevant so he didn’t receive further instructions. Luke lay back on his bed and put the flower in his mouth without thinking too much, hoping the morning came soon and that Eugene explained what was supposed to happen.

But instead of feeling his body heavy with fatigue, he felt lighter, and with a sensation that he had never felt before.

He had gotten up.

He was sitting on himself.

He was sitting on himself?!

Luke got up from his own bed watching himself sleep in it, it wasn't a few seconds later that he began to see how his hands weren't his usual skin color; his skin was a more purple color, his hoodie was a very light pink, and his pants were a very dark purple.  
Was this a dream? A so called "lucid dream"? Where you are aware that you are dreaming? Luke didn’t feel like it was a dream, that body in his bed looked very real.  
It wasn’t after turning his body towards the window that he saw a familiar figure, it seemed white but with details between pink and purple that was in the frame of his window looking towards the darkness of the night. And then he remembered it; it was Eugene, it was the same Eugene who appeared in his dreams, with different colored clothes and that pink hair. He was stunned by that figure, by his thin limbs, by his hair that slowly blew on the wind, and by his eyes that met Luke's once the boy turned and slowly opened the window.

-"Hey... Luke"-

\- “…Eugene? What is...?"-

A few moments of silence were those that reigned in Luke's dark room, only illuminated by the slight brightness of the stars that sneaked in through the window.  
Eugene met his eyes with an uncertain smile.

-"We are... ghosts"-

Ghosts?

The boys exchanged longing looks.

-"Is this a dream...?"-

The strange tension in the air was broken when Eugene let out a laugh and looked away.

\- “No… But don't worry! I can explain this to you at another time..."-

-"I'm not dead... am I?!"- The sudden gesture of panic was enough for Eugene to burst into laughter.

-"No! Just... I'll explain tomorrow... Today we don't have much time"-

Eugene offered a hand to Luke, who looked at him and perceived him again as an ethereal figure; Illuminated by the stars of the night, offering his hand in what seemed like a crazy dream. Luke took his friend's hand after a few seconds and there he felt it.

That feeling in his hand was the same as the day before, his warm hand that with that simple touch made butterflies form in his stomach. A very different touch from that dream he had weeks ago, a feeling incomparable to that of that unreal hug, but almost the same as yesterday.  
Eugene pulled Luke's arm so that they were both in the frame of his window, and as in a dream, his friend jumped from there and began to float in the air dragging Luke with him.  
It was a beautiful sight, he could see the few people who were walking down the street from the sky, he could feel the wind on his face and how his hair was untidy thanks to it, and he saw mainly that boy who again left him speechless, flying with him in silence.

-"Where are we going?"-

-"I want... to take you to the office… but... There is a very nice place that I want to take you first!"-

\--

After a few minutes they both arrived at a local amusement park, there seemed to be no one in any of the attractions or in the entire park, as the attractions were immobile but nevertheless they were still illuminated by those characteristic lights. In the whole park, what seemed to stand out the most was a Ferris wheel that was located right in front of a lake, causing the attraction to be reflected along with the lights creating a beautiful setting. They landed in one of the seats of the attraction, the highest to be specific, the only thing that Luke could do at that moment was just admire that scene seeing the lights and the rest of the park and its reflection in that lake illuminated by the attractions around them.

\- “...Wow..."- He had no words. -"It's... really beautiful"- Luke turned his head to see that Eugene was next to him in the ride seat, staring at him with a smile on his face and looking away when Luke tried to simulate the action.

-"Yes... It's a very good sight... That's why I brought you here! I thought you might like it!”- The boy's face was illuminated by the lights of the Ferris wheel around him and various lights from other attractions, such as several roller coasters that gave off lights that varied from gold to pink. These lights made his face light up almost completely and the blush on his cheeks was almost impossible for Luke to not see.

He also noticed his lips, how they were folded into a tender smile directed at him.

What he thought at that moment was something irrational, something that made him turn his head quickly as if it were a reflection, covering his face with one of his hands and trying to ignore the feeling that was overwhelming him.

\- “It's… yes… it's… a very… Very nice view”-

He felt how the boy approached him and took him by the hand, causing a chill to run through Luke's body and his face to redden much more.

-"Sometimes I usually come here... it's a place that River showed me a few days ago... it has a beautiful view, don't you think...?"- Eugene's illuminated face was the only thing on Luke's mind, so much that he didn't think about that unknown name that he had just mentioned, the only thing he was concentrating on was those beautiful eyes and the subtle reflection of the lights that appeared in his glasses.

-"I wanted to bring you here because sometimes coming here on my own... makes me feel kind of lonely... And I thought that bringing you would make me feel better...!"-

In the mess of thoughts and words that was Luke internally, he only manage to recite one sentence in almost a whisper; -"Do I really make you feel better...?"-

Eugene looked at him almost confused, as if the answer were obvious, -"Of course you do... you always do..."-

Their faces came closer, their eyes were glued to each other and their hands were interspersed with each other. Luke didn't seem to think clearly about what he was doing and to be honest neither did Eugene, but with every inch their faces got closer, their faces reddened and their heartbeat increased.

It was then that everything went dark, and the moment ended. That glow emanating from the attractions was supplanted by a darkness which broke the moment and made their faces suddenly turn away flushed and embarrassed. The reflection of the Ferris wheel on the lake was almost non-existent now, only its shadow could be seen thanks to the light of the stars.

-"Ah... it must be 12 o'clock... The lights usually go out at that time..."-

Luke couldn’t formulate a word, he was grateful for the darkness because that way his blush was almost impossible to notice, his cheeks were burning and he felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest.

They stayed in the seat for a few minutes, looking at the stars and trying to calm the butterflies in their stomachs, while Eugene tried to divert his gaze, Luke's was totally fixed on the boy next to him, who after a while stood up.

-"We should get going to the office... Here..."- Eugene offered him the same hand that a few minutes ago held Luke's. The boy took it again and once again they began to fly, slowly leaving that amusement park and seeing that all the attractions were now in total darkness, it was honestly a little scary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I talked to some friends of mine and they were telling me that Luke's hoodie is yellow. IT'S LITERALLY ORANGE??? I don't know guys, just headcanon the hoodie whatever color you want, yellow is my favorite color but I still think it's orange.  
> And we also talked about using " instead of -, I do admit it's kind of confusing to use only -, so I decided to use both of them!  
> I might upload soon since I really enjoyed writing this chapter.  
> Once again, if you see any grammar mistakes let me know! It'll help me improve my english!


	5. Semi transparent hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally Luke met everybody!! Also they held hands for literally the whole chapter you are welcome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy!!! I know it's been a while I just totally forgot how to write things and had a block anyways enjoy

He could already feel his nerves growing as he looked out of those windows and spied the nearby glass door. Through them Luke could see around 4 figures without being able to recognize any, fear began to seize him after he saw that they were not like anyone he had ever seen before, some of the shadows seemed to float, and others seemed to be dark entities. They didn't look human.  
After seeing Luke's stunned and terrified look, Eugene caught his attention by grabbing him by the shoulder startling the boy on the spot, causing him to look at his friend quickly with a face filled with fear.

\- "They are ghosts... They are good ghosts... Don't worry." –

The gentle smile that Eugene gave him helped calm his nerves, but those returned almost immediately after he saw through that window again and one of the shadows gave him goosebumps; It was a tall, totally black shadow with a frightening aura that made Luke look away and search his friend's eyes once more.

\- “Oh… that's Boss, don't worry… I know… I know he seems intimidating but is he someone… nice? I guess, Once you know him. "-

This time Eugene's insecure tone made the fear amplify, but after taking another look he discovered that one of the ghosts looked familiar; an apparent floating baby was exactly like the one that helped him with Kitty in that dream long ago, the same dream in which he saw Eugene and in which he said goodbye to his beloved pet. This made his nerves calm, although he didn’t remember much about the dream, he remembered that the two ghosts he saw that night were kind enough to be able to help him say goodbye to his cat.

After a few minutes in which they both calmed their nerves, Eugene spoke again.

\- "I'll go in first, tell Boss that you've arrived and then come back for you, so we can go in... stay over there so they won't see you through the windows" - He pointed to one of the corners, Luke went there and stood looking at his surroundings as his friend passed through the glass door.

He was looking around when a thought crossed his mind; An office in a train station? What kind of jobs were they doing? But anyway; What the heck was going on? Luke seemed to have gotten carried away by the whole amusement park thing and the sudden… closeness he shared with his friend, but didn't question the weirdness of the whole situation… Ghosts? Was he really a ghost? Had he died? Was this another one of his strange dreams? What are those entities that at the moment were speaking to his friend?

Luke had hundreds of questions and apparently answers that were not going to come tonight, he tried to calm his nerves again and let everything flow; he closed his eyes and began to calm his breathing, trying not to think about those questions.  
The door finally opened slowly, the hooded boy got out and called Luke. Without saying anything, and seeing Luke's terrified face, he took his hand and led him slowly towards the door. Suddenly Luke felt his nerves leave his body and a calm and warmth feeling took control of his body, being unleashed by the gentle touch of his hands.

As he passed through the glass door, all eyes were focused on him, astonished, 3 of the 4 ghosts looked almost immediately at the shadow leaning towards the wall whom Eugene called "Boss", it seemed almost as if they were looking for their approval to know if his mere presence was authorized. The dark ghost nodded and finally the other 3 ghosts lunged towards them at the speed of light.

-"It’s him! It's Luke! It's the cat boy! ”- Said the baby-shaped ghost

\- "Is it really Luke? I thought he would be taller...? "- Said a ghost that seemed almost totally a shadow, most of her body was black with the exception of some parts of her arm and face, although it was terrifying, it was not half as intimidating as the ghost still leaning on the wall watching the conversation.

\- "But if it isn't that young boy! What are you doing here? ”- Holding a cane was a ghost that looked like an old lady, Are old ghosts a thing?

\- "Oh... Umm Hello..." - Luke was not a shy person, it was not shyness that made it difficult for him to search for words and what made it almost impossible not to run; it was the fear and uncertainty he felt towards those shadows and ghosts that were inches from him.

But then he felt someone squeeze his hand; Eugene was looking at him with a smile as he gently held his hand, making the warmth return to his body and that fear he felt moments ago turn into courage and bravery.

\- “It's… it's a pleasure to meet you! I'm Luke. ”-

The ghosts looked at each other, as if forgetting that they too should introduce themselves, so they stepped away from the pair of boys.

\- “It's been so long since I had to introduce myself… So I completely forgot! You can call me Joan, kid. ”- The ghost with a cane made a gesture of reverence after introducing herself.

\- "Oh! I thought I shouldn't have to introduce myself since we met in Kitty's dream! You remember it right? ”- The baby ghost approached Luke slightly, this ghost was the least intimidating of all since he looked and acted like a small child.

-"Yes! I remember! Although I don't think I remember your name though... "-

\- "My name is Hayden!" –

Before Luke could answer, the ghost with what appeared to be long hair and a body made up of shadows stepped forward and extended a hand to Luke, who took it slowly and unsteadily.

\- “I am River! And that dark ghost over there is Boss, I'm really surprised that he let you come here… We usually don’t have many visitors… ”- The ghost turned to see Boss, who finally approached the others. Luke could feel his menacing aura.

\- "Eugene wanted to bring him, and I didn't see a reason why he couldn't, that's all" - His voice matched his personality, it was monotonous and low, and it felt intimidating.

Joan seemed somewhat irritated, - "Don't you think it's risky? What if he brings more mortals with him? In my times you got to be a ghost after living a good and long life... These young people are so impatient... "-

The dark ghost turned to Luke - "Eugene seems to trust him, so I decided to give him a try" –

If he were in his body his blood would be cold, that intimidating look was enough for the warmth he once felt to disappear in a flash.

\- “I still can't believe Luke is here! I was already looking forward to the day that Eugene would bring you, but I didn't think it would be this soon! ”- Hayden broke the strange tension that was beginning to form in the air, but what he said left Luke thinking… How did they know who he was?

\- "Do you... know me?" –

The ghosts looked at each other.

River smiled and gave a little laugh, - “Of course we know you! Eugene talks about you all the time! ”-

Luke's face reddened slightly as he discreetly looked at his friend who was in the same shape.

\- “I… I don't talk that much about him! You only know him because you follow me everywhere! ”- Eugene defended himself.

\- "What are you talking about, Eugene? Just the other day you were talking about how great Luke was for handing you his homework! ”- The little ghost didn't seem to mind Eugene's non-verbal requests for help as he kept giving him away.

\- "Kid, if I learned something from all my years alive, it’s that lying is bad... you have to accept that this boy is the only thing you talk about lately." - Joan added.

Eugene looked like a tomato, his cheeks were burning and he didn’t seem to be able to form sentences without stuttering, and Luke was not very different, the taller boy was only focused on his hands still intertwined so his nervousness was not as much as of the boy next to him.

\- "Although it IS true that sometimes we follow you... Just a few days ago Hayden told us about how you went to buy flowers together!" - River said looking at Eugene with a knowing look.

\- "It's enough." - Boss said cutting off the conversation and saving poor Eugene who couldn't seem to make coherent sentences. - "It's late enough, we have to start working." –

The boy looked at the ghost as if he were a hero, meanwhile Luke felt a bit sad, a part of him still wanted to be told about the way Eugene always talked about him. It made him feel a warm and tingling feeling in his chest.

\- “Aww… Come on Boss! We just met him! Aren't you curious to meet the famous Luke? ”- It seemed like River had more things to say about how Eugene talks about Luke all the time, but Boss didn't seem to want to hear anything more about that topic.

-"No. We received reports of some nightmares not far from here so we will have to go check them. ”-

\- "We... We're not going to fight, right?... Luke doesn't know anything about that… and... he could get hurt..." - Eugene's concern didn't help the warm feeling that began to emerge in Luke, which for some reason was generating him great happiness. That feeling was apparently so strong and distracting that Luke didn't question the use of the word "fight."

\- "I was thinking you could go patrol with some of the other ghosts... Maybe River since she seems to want to spend more time with you." - Boss looked at River, who nodded quickly with a smile on her face.

\- "Don't worry kids... We're going to have fun." - River once again gave Eugene a knowing look, who looked away embarrassed.

\- “Aww… But I wanted to talk to Luke more! He didn’t say much... "- Hayden said approaching Boss.

\- "You can talk to him after work." –

And as Hayden continued to complain, Luke averted his gaze to Eugene who seemed happy watching his friends talk. The tallest boy was happy for his friend, for letting him see this part of his life and for being able to make so many good friends… no matter how weird they are. Luke squeezed Eugene's hand, receiving another squeeze in response as he watched him looked away with a red face and a smile. Cute.  
-  
They were walking in the corridors of what appeared to be a hotel near the station, Luke still concentrating on their intertwined hands. In front of them was River telling an anecdote about one of the ghosts that they caught not so long ago.

\- "...That's why after Charlie's incident, we monitor places with many people sleeping at the same time in the same place..." -  
Eugene seemed quite immersed in the story, but Luke's mind was wondering the same questions as before, and hoping that at some point they would receive an answer; part of him still insisted that this was all just a dream.

\- "... And that is why we also always bring weapons with us." –

After River finished the story and the silence appeared, the atmosphere was mildly terrifying; dark and desolate corridors with nothing nor no one in sight. Luke wasn't entirely sure what they were “patrolling”, but he was sure that holding Eugene's hand was very reassuring. The walk was silent and River seemed attentive to her surroundings, the boy next to him seemed somewhat confused but also paying attention to the metal doors that were around the hotel corridor, thanks to the deep silence hey could hear the soft snoring of the people inside of the rooms.

Silence.

And suddenly coming through one of the doors a terrifying figure appeared; a dark Monster that didn't had many features in their whole body was heading quickly towards the 3 ghosts, the figure was a bit bigger than River and seemed to be melting, the most terrifying part were those strange sounds it made; they were like screams mixed with snoring.  
Luke was frozen, looking at that terrifying scene and squeezing the hand of his friend who pulled him to the side to avoid the fast shadow. A few meters away, they could see River kill the monster easily and almost without flinching.

\- "Luke!" - After Eugene yelled in his ear, Luke woke up and came back to reality, finding his friend's concerned face inches from his. -"Are you good? You froze for a second... Look! River is done with the monster, there is no need to fear. "-

The hooded boy gave him a reassuring face, the hallway seemed to light up from his presence. Their hands were still intertwined. Luke thought Eugene looked brave; almost unfazed by the presence of something so terrifying. Once again, he was his hero.

\- "Well... I guess we're done for today! We don't want Luke to get a heart attack or anything like that! ”- River joined the 2 boys again while wearing a smile on her face, that ghost seemed so cool to him.

\- "Yes... Besides, it's already getting... it's about to be daylight." - Eugene added, and it was there that Luke turned his gaze to the only window that was at the end of the hall, it turns out that the sudden lighting on the hallway was thanks to the Dawn that was looming and not because of the boy next to him.

He still had no words, he was in a state of shock and somewhat terrified, his heart kept beating and he still held his friend's hand tightly; he needed a break. Luke nodded and they decided to go back.  
Upon returning to the office they found Boss, Hayden and Joan talking to each other, the ghost baby celebrated after seeing them return and approached the two boys again as they sat on one of the seats.

\- “How good to have you back! I started to believe that you had stood us up... "-

Eugene gave a little laugh and they began to talk, then the other ghosts joined the conversation, including Luke; they all seemed to be very close and good friends.

\- “And how was your first night of work? I still remember mine... so many years have passed... "- Joan said as she looked at Luke.

\- "I wouldn't say it was the best..." –

\- "There was a monster and he froze!" - River interrupted while laughing, making the others laugh alongside her.

\- “It was his first night! Who wouldn't freeze after… after seeing that thing? ”- Although Eugene and Luke were laughing as well, the hooded boy came to his defense.

\- “But Eugene! On your first night you were hardly scared! And Kitty was pretty scary! ”- Hayden said.

\- "Wait... Was my dream your first night?" - Luke was surprised, he remembered the Eugene from his dream as someone who had everything under control and who seemed to know what he was doing, he could never have imagined that it was his first night.

\- "Yes! And it was much easier! A... a little cat is not the same as a monster!" –

Time passed while they were having a good time, the ghosts seemed very nice and funny, Luke would like to spend more time with them but after the sun rose Eugene said that they should return, so after a few goodbyes, and still holding hands, the boys started flying in the direction of Luke's house.  
Meanwhile they saw how slowly the streets were starting to get filled with people, the stores started to open and the sunlight began to illuminate the pavement and the people who walked on it. It was very different compared to the streets of last night; lonely and dark.

\- "Hey, I don't think I’ve met Sean yet." - Luke said remembering who the bouquet of Lilies was for.

\- "Oh!... Sean isn’t always in the office... maybe one day you’ll meet him! He is a very nice ghost! "-

\- "They all look very nice..." –

Eugene gave a little laugh - "They are..." –

In no time they were back in Luke's room, now lit by sunlight. Slowly the two entered the room and Luke could see his body lying on his bed, as if he were sleeping.  
Seeing himself lying down, and seeing his ghostly semi-transparent lilac hands left him wondering.

\- "Luke? You're good? You're quiet…"-

\- “I'm still not sure if this is a dream or not… Ghosts? Are ghosts real? ”- The boy was standing in the middle of his room, giving his back to the hooded boy.

Eugene took him by the shoulder, making him turn around making them stand face to face, Luke could see the light from the window around the boy in front of him; once again Eugene resembled an ethereal figure, astonishing him with his appearance.  
The shorter boy put his hands around Luke's face and leaned closer, their faces being inches from each other.

\- “Luke… this is not a dream. This was real, remember it. ”-

The boy was frozen again, but this time not from fear.

For the second time that night he had his friend's face barely inches from his, the butterflies returned but ten times stronger, his face was red and he could feel his hands tremble a little.

\- "It... it does feels like a dream though..." - He managed to say with a small voice.

Eugene tilted his head slightly and brought his face even closer, leaving a kiss on Luke's cheek.

\- "Did... that feel like a dream?"

Luke shook his head, he wasn't able to say a word and his blush was probably very noticeable thanks to the sunlight shining directly onto his face.

He couldn't tell when Eugene left, the boy was still frozen and in the same position as before, still feeling his cheeks burning and the hundreds of butterflies in his stomach, along with the rapid beating of his heart. Why was this happening? Why did he feel like this?

When Luke returned to his body he found himself lying in bed. He felt as if he had suddenly awakened, and although it was just dawn and he had a few more hours to sleep he wasn’t able to close his eyes again. All he did until the alarm rang was look at the ceiling with thousands of questions in his head, not about the office, the ghosts or about what the hell happened that night, but about the confusing feelings that he felt within himself.

What was he feeling?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also thank you so much for the support! And you know how it is if you see any grammar mistakes please let me know, this chapter specifically was one of the most dificults for me to translate I don't even know why.  
> I'll try to update more often!


	6. It was love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How could anyone define love? How could anyone expect a teenager to understand? Luke had a big talk to himself with the help of a song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna be a long one so brace yourselves lol.  
> I now remember how to write so yeah

Luke never understood love.

We are talking about romantic love, of course.

He never understood what was that thing so many bragged about and others lamented, he didn’t understand where the desire to kiss someone and hold them in their arms came from. Romantic love reminded him of fog, he felt that there was something he couldn’t see.  
He thought that movies, books, and TV shows exaggerated that feeling, that it wasn’t possible for a human to feel that way naturally; He felt that love was overrated.  
In part he always felt somewhat anguished because of it; He felt that he was missing something essential to the human experience, He felt that he was left out of an internal joke that every person on earth shared, He felt like an outcast, wishing that one day he could get the kind of love his parents showed each day, to feel those sighs that Oliver gave every time he saw Joy, seeing how each important person in his life found comfort in that feeling so unknown to him.  
But he was also relieved, love always seemed to come accompanied by insecurities, sadness and even fights with that person who is supposed to make you happy. He had never found himself crying at night listening to sad songs thanks to someone else, nor had he seen himself in the mirror with a broken heart between his chest. On that side he didn't regret it, maybe it was better not to fall in love, he thought.  
Nevertheless, now Luke was stretched out in his bed late at night, softly lit by the moonlight streaming through the window. Confused, and to some extent, scared.  
It was the third night in a row in which he didn’t find his desire to sleep, in which his head was shooting in hundreds of directions that pointed towards the same person, towards the same boy.  
He didn’t understand. He didn't understand what he was supposed to understand, he didn't know what he was supposed to think, what he was doing or why. At first he didn’t care, little fictional butterflies that occupied his stomach every time he looked at him, the little blushes that appeared at each of his smiles, furtive glances for no reason that made him happy; why did they make him happy? Why was it that he was always looking for the light touch of their bodies? From small pushes to hesitating between taking his hand or not. Why was each goodbye the saddest part of the day and their reunions the happiest? What did he want? What was he supposed to do?  
What was going to happen that day, in that amusement park?  
The questions were overwhelming, they felt like a punishment that he was giving himself for something he didn’t know. He didn’t know what to do, how to order those questions and how to give them answers.

\--

Luke was exhausted, and that was notorious, when he went to school he could feel his eyelids dropping and his limbs weighing him down, it didn’t help his fatigue to see that boy who at night made him question his existence, however he could never stop seeing him.  
He could also see the concerned looks that acquaintances and friends threw him through the hallways of the school, Luke was known to be someone lively and energetic, who now lived tired and quiet.  
The boy barely noticed the course of the day, now the students were leaving the classroom along with the teacher and the 4 friends, they were walking through the corridors of the school towards the exit.

\- “Hey! What do you think if we go get a coffee or something today? ”- Oliver said as he put one of his arms around Joy's shoulders.

\- "Yes... I think it would be good to relax." - Eugene said looking at Luke, who was walking as if he were a zombie.

\- "Nah... I think I'll just go home to sleep..." –

Joy, Oliver, and Eugene looked at each other, concerned faces present.

-"Come on, dude! It’ll help distract you, we can do homework too or something. ”- Joy encouraged.

\- "It's... It's true!... Besides, it's been a long time since we went anywhere all four of us!" - As Eugene spoke, he took Luke by the arm.

A chill ran through his body from the slight contact he shared with that boy, his mind was clouded and he could not think straight. His mind begged him, asked him to say no, to refuse to spend more time with the boy who didn’t let him think and made his heart race, however a smile appeared on his face and his lips moved before he thought.

\- "Uhm... Uh... Yes... Yes, we can go... it seems like a... good idea."

The 3 friends smiled at each other as if they had done something incredible, and after leaving school they headed towards their new destination.  
They were heading towards a coffee shop near the school, they could see through their windows some students and familiar faces. It was a cozy place characterized by its wooden walls and a modern but friendly structure, sometimes the friends would go to that coffee shop so they were already familiar with some waiters and local drinks.  
Oliver led them to one of the farthest tables, next to a window and with some armchairs, a waitress with a familiar face quickly served them and the friends ordered their drinks by heart, Luke could never memorize the other’s, he only knew his own drink which consisted of a Latte, and Eugene's which was a simple black coffee, when he saw the drinks of his 2 friends in front of him he could only know that they were colorful, tall, and seemed quite expensive.  
The idea of finishing homework resurfaced, and although they spent the first few minutes in silence trying to solve it, those calculations and equations ended up forgotten in a corner thanks to the conversations that emerged at the table, full of laughter and jokes.  
Luke took a moment to contemplate his friends, the caffeine had woken him up a bit. He noticed the small frictions and knowing glances between Oliver and Joy, the small comments that generated smiles on their faces as if they referred to an intimate joke between them that neither Luke nor Eugene could understand, he saw how their hands were touching in the table and how their shoulders collided from time to time and on purpose causing slight blushes in his two friends. At first it was terrible, Luke couldn’t bear how his longtime friends suddenly treated themselves differently and looked at each other with different eyes, many times Luke felt like the third wheel of the friendship. Luckily, time passed and the boy accepted them and began to see the relationship of his best friends in a better way, and he stopped feeling like a third wheel after Eugene arrived at the group of friends.  
Turning his gaze to the boy next to him smiling as he talked to the couple, he also saw his small movements, from the way he squeezed the pencil to his disheveled hair thanks to wearing the hood all day. Around the whole afternoon he could see the little furtive glances he was throwing at him sometimes denoting a hint of concern, probably towards the dark circles that Luke so blatantly wore on his face. He also felt how their legs were touching in small moments under the table and how their hands accidentally met on the couch, without Oliver or Joy being able to see.  
The calm that he once felt when taking his friend's hand was non-existent, this was replaced by a feeling of nervousness and confusion throughout his body that was accompanied by the familiar warmth in his chest and the feeling of insects in his stomach, so he didn’t remove his hand and they spent the afternoon holding hands.  
Moments later, Joy broke the newly formed silence when everyone decided to focus on the homework.

-"I came up with the best idea in the world..." - The girl left a few moments of suspense before finishing the sentence - "We should go to the amusement park! I heard it's great, it's not that well known so there aren't many people. ”-

Eugene and Luke looked at each other, they knew what amusement park it was. Now they seemed the ones with an inside joke.

\- "I don't know... isn't it far away?" - Oliver asked.

-"No! It's just a few minutes of walking, plus the tests period is over so now there are no excuses for not going out. ”- The girl seemed determined to go, for some reason.

\- "I wonder if it’s open at night... I always liked the idea of seeing all the lights in an amusement park..." - Oliver asked.

\- "I think... it closes at 12 am... so yes..." - Eugene answered

\- "Although it seemed closed before that time, there was no one before." - Luke added, without thinking that they should have no way of knowing that and that the visit to the park was a secret between them 2.

\- "Have you already been there?!" - The girl screamed as she looked at her boyfriend in disbelief.

Eugene and Luke shared a look of panic after realizing that they shouldn't have said anything.

\- “Uhh… Yes…? A few days ago…”- replied the disheveled boy.

Oliver cleared his throat; - "So, you went to an amusement park, you two alone, at night, without telling us..." –

\- "It's not that we didn't tell you..." - Luke tried to defend himself but Joy cut him off in the middle of the sentence.

\- "That was totally a date" –

Eugene's eyes widened and Luke choked on his own spit.

\- "No!... It wasn't...!" - Eugene tried to speak while his friend regained his composure, but they looked at each other as if trying to confirm the facts and looked away in embarrassment.

Silence.

It was totally a date.

They just didn't know.

Joy and Oliver burst out laughing.

\- "Hey, it was a joke!" - Oliver said trying to catch his breath while Joy lay on the shoulder of the boy next to her laughing.

The 2 blushing boys just looked at each other and gave a little forced laugh.

\- "Although I'm still offended because you didn't invite us!" - Joy added when her laugh began to fade.

\- "Next time we’ll invite you!" - Said Eugene with a smile trying to hide the blush on his cheeks.

The conversation followed its natural course, Luke trying to keep his eyes from meeting Eugene's and for the topic not to come back, his mind was once again surrounded by fog and his confusion began to resurface. Yet their hands were still intertwined.  
After about half an hour, Joy and Oliver decided to leave; It was normal for them to leave their meetings first since they probably wanted to spend their "couple time" as Luke called it, so after paying, his 2 friends left the coffee shop holding hands and smiling, sharing some knowing glances.  
There was silence between the 2 boys at the table, it wasn’t uncomfortable because Eugene was trying to finish his homework and Luke admired the empty glasses of his friends in front of him, long glass glasses, and saw his own mug; Much smaller but almost completely full, the latte would probably already be cold so he had no intention of drinking it.

He felt his friend's gaze before he began to speak.

\- "Hey Luke... lately you've been very quiet... even more than before..." - A tone of concern accompanied the phrase.  
Luke remained silent, this time looking the boy next to him in the eye.

\- "If you have nightmares just tell me and I’ll help you like the other time..." –

Nightmares. Luke laughed inwardly; his dreams lately were the same, about him and Eugene in exotic places, sharing long glances full of feeling and with a thousand silenced words.

\- "No... It's not that... it's just..." He didn't know what to say, he was looking for excuses but couldn't find any, so he tried to be honest. - "I've been confused... with many questions..." - He looked at the ceiling made of wood. - "Lost…"-

Eugene let out a sigh, for a moment Luke thought that he knew what he was talking about, that the boy could read his thoughts and that he was aware that what was confusing him was that boy next to him, who was looking at him with slight concern. At this point, he wouldn't be surprised if he could read minds.

"If it's because of the ghosts... I'm sorry... I know it was probably a lot for you... it was a lot for me too... Knowing that ghosts are real, seeing those horrible creatures... I'm sorry I put you through that..." –

The ghosts… It wasn't something Luke usually thought about. After that night Eugene explained to him what confused him, from how he found the office, how he met the ghosts, what was exactly the thing they did every night… and so on. However Luke didn’t seem very concerned about it, knowing that those ghosts really are dead people, that those monsters they fight are also people... It was not something that consumed his mind. It surprised him, it's true, the first days he was still confused and even somewhat terrified, but then he just stopped thinking about it.  
Luke tried to speak up and tell him that it wasn't the ghosts' fault, that there was something else that was bothering him, but then he realized that he would have to explain what that was. Luke couldn't even explain to himself what exactly was confusing him so he couldn’t explain it to the person causing the fog to form in his mind; It would do him good to talk to someone about this, but not him.

The boy with the orange and now wrinkled hoodie couldn't help but sigh and nod his head.

Eugene seemed thoughtful, as if he were searching for words or something to distract his friend.

\- "Hey... do you wanna go elsewhere?" - Said the shorter boy suddenly.

\- "Huh?" –

\- “Oliver and Joy ditched us… We have to do something too!” - He could see the emotion in his eyes through the glasses.

Conflicting feelings arose in Luke once again, on the one hand he loved the idea of spending more time with his friend, but he also felt fed up with that nervousness and confusion that appeared in his mind every time he saw and was with him. However, after seeing his face filled with determination, he decided to agree.

-"Okay…! I guess it’ll distract me ... "-

\--

Luke felt regret.

He didn't know when did Eugene mentioned it but they were going to his house. He had already gone to the boy's house once in a while, but at this moment the simple fact of walking next to him was enough to make his nerves overflow, he didn’t know what he was going to do once he was alone with him in his house.  
A few minutes later they were already at Eugene's house, the silence seemed strange to him; Luke's house was always full of noise. From his sister playing music on her speaker, his mother singing around the house, his father watching television… even he was loud and loved to talk. However, the boy's house was so quiet that he could hear the few birds that were outside at dusk and the cars that passed by on the street, it was strange but familiar and welcoming.  
They spent the afternoon in Eugene's room, Luke always paid attention to the room, but he had never noticed the flower just like the one he had at home, lying on his desk. It was like the one he used on that night.  
The afternoon turned into night, and they were playing video games and just chatting, many times the room was left in a pleasant silence because Eugene had given him one of his favorite books and Luke was reading it, it was not the first time that Eugene recommended him a book, and although Luke was not a fan of reading, he sometimes read books that his friend recommended so that they could both be enthusiastic and share the same things.  
Luke found himself lying on his back on his friend's bed while reading a book with a nice light blue cover, Eugene was on the floor reading another book he couldn't recognize.

\- "What are you reading?" - Luke said looking away from his book.

\- "Oh, look." - Eugene got up and laid down on the bed right next to him - "It's called Pride and Perjudice, they gave it for school a few years ago but I’ve always liked it..." –

It was fascinating.

Luke couldn’t take his eyes off that illuminated face, while Eugene explained the complexity of the characters and the plot, the boy with the orange hoodie only thought about how amazing he looked as he was explaining the book he was so passionate about. It’s really beautiful to see someone talk about what they like. Luke had already unconsciously closed his book without even having marked which page he was on (a fact he will probably regret later).  
Eugene noticed the look his friend was giving him, but he too seemed lost in his eyes. Both were fascinated by each other's eyes and they both shared that look. You know what look.  
They were face to face lying on their bed, looking into each other's eyes as if there were galaxies within them, imagining their wishes, living their lives, seeing their dreams, each other's eyes were like portals in which they could pass through and get lost... He could feel his sight drift towards the boy's lips, and how his breath trembled when he felt his warm breath.  
He felt just like in the amusement park, maybe the scene felt more intimate, they were in a room alone and in their real bodies, but the thought that crossed him in the amusement park came back, but stronger.

And then Luke got it.

And now he was aware of what he wanted to do.

He wanted to kiss him.

Luke was surprised at his own thoughts and took one of his hands towards his mouth, his eyes widened in surprise, and he abruptly separated from his friend, sitting up on the bed almost immediately.  
That wave of thoughts came back a thousand times stronger, his conflicting feelings were now battling inside him and the confusion in his head was much more amplified.  
Behind him was a confused Eugene, who sat on the bed and tried to touch Luke's shoulder to understand what was happening.  
Luke dodged him, stood up before his friend's hand touched him and quickly took his backpack which was somewhere in the room.

\- "Uhmm..." - His voice was brittle.

He felt like crying.

\- "I think... I think I should... I should go home." - Luke could feel a lump form in his throat, and the butterflies in his stomach went from being a slight tickle to feel like scorpions hurting him.

He wanted to go home and deal with those feelings alone.

\- "Luke...?" - He could hear Eugene's worried tone, but he couldn't allow himself to speak anymore, or he might start crying on the spot.

Before his friend could say anything else, Luke was already closing the door of his friend's house and walking briskly until he reached the street and started running.  
What was he running from? No one was following him. Why was he crying? He felt how his cheeks began to wet and how his tears reached his hand, still covering his mouth as if he had not yet left the room, feeling the warm breath of his friend inches from his face and seeing those eyes covered by a glass.  
Fortunately, the streets were almost empty thanks to the fact that it was night and the stars were fully visible, so no one could question why he was running and crying through the streets.  
He arrived at his house quickly, and tried to sneak into his room without anyone seeing him, he didn't want to explain anything.  
When he closed the door of his room and after throwing his backpack, he laid down on his bed as he was trying to cover his eyes and stop the tears.

What was happening? Why did he feel like this? Why were those butterflies that seemed so harmless now stabbing him from the inside? Why did that pleasant warmth now feel like a suffocating fire? Why did he seek his gaze? His friction? His hands? Why him?

Why did he want to kiss him?

The more questions he asked himself, the more he wanted to cry and the worse he felt, it was like a spiral from which he couldn’t get out.

It was then that he heard a slight "Ping!". It was from his phone.

He looked to the side with his eyes full of tears and a blurry vision, and he saw his backpack thrown with the pockets slightly open.  
He gave a shaky sigh and tried to calm himself, opened the backpack and took his phone with shaking hands. It was a message from Eugene.  
His gaze wavered at the notification, seeing the little notification sign next to Eugene's name on his phone, trying to prepare himself for whatever he had sent him and ready to apologize for any strange behavior he might’ve had.

He opened the message slowly:  
Euge: “hey ! thought u were kinda sad so I wanted to share u my fav song ! I think its very calming I hope u like it ! if u need to talk to someone im here ! "

The message almost made him laugh, a poorly written message with many emojis in between, along with a link to a song he didn’t know. A calming song was what he needed, so after a bit of hesitation he opened the link which redirected him to Spotify.  
The name "Ultimately" appeared on the screen. Luke didn't notice who the artist was, but he did notice that the album cover consisted of some pretty flowers that strangely gave him a feeling of calm.  
As soon as the song began he could feel his heartbeat slowing down and his hands stopped shaking slightly. He turned up the volume and could start listening to the song all over his room.

‘Ultimately I don’t understand a thing  
I try to do the best I can  
I know you try to do the same… '

A nice love song, probably.  
Luke was never one of those people who tried to find meanings in songs, much less compare to them, but there were lines in which he could see himself reflected, in which he felt called out, and ones that made him think.

‘…But I’m still growing up  
Into the one you can call your love…’

Your love ...

Luke could almost imagine it, Eugene calling him by cute nicknames, looking at him with those eyes and taking his hand as if it were the most normal thing, feeling his warm breath on his face and his lips colliding with his.  
He could imagine the two of them on that Ferris wheel again, this time with confident gazes, holding hands and leaning towards each other looking at the stars in front of that lake, creating a beautiful setting.  
How cute it would be to see Eugene cheering on him at one of his basketball games, making a heart sign with his hands in the distance, melting his heart.  
Now Luke's cheeks were not surrounded by tears, they were red with blush after thinking about that, a smile was drawn on his face and those butterflies returned, but this time they seemed to tickle harmlessly making him feel happy, in a certain way.

‘…And ultimately I believe we’ll be okay…’

We’ll be okay. For some reason he liked that phrase very much, short but apparently full of meaning.  
After finishing the song Luke realized that he couldn't relate. He didn't understand the full meaning of the song and couldn't relate to almost any of it, but somehow it helped. Perhaps that was the power of art; it allowed each person to find their own meaning.  
The room was silent, he could hear his mother singing, and murmurs from the rest of his family, he no longer felt panic, but felt that he still had to come on terms with himself, so lying on his bed looking at the ceiling, and taking his headphones he played the same song again, trying to discover the answers to his questions.

What did he feel? A great affection. A type of affection that he had never felt with anyone before, he wanted to hug him, hold him, he wanted...

Why did he want to be near him? It made him feel warm, it made him feel good.

What did he want to do a few minutes ago? He wanted to kiss him.

He wanted to kiss him.

Those words were suspended in his mind, kissing... is what couples do, right?

And then another issue arose that was probably the one that consumed his nights, and the one that he wanted to postpone for another time in the future.

A boy…? He wanted to kiss a boy? Why?

The talk about sexuality, the one he had been putting off for fear of not wanting to know the answer. Luke knew it was a spectrum, many times he tried to search on the internet the reason for his lack of attraction to people, he came up with various terms, various labels, but none seemed appropriate for him.

Asexual? Definitely NOT. And he knew that even before he met Eugene.

Bisexual? Maybe, but for some reason he wasn't comfortable with the term.

Gay? He didn't know, it was likely, but again he didn't feel like it was for him.

Inexplicable feelings with thousands of questions, but no answers.

While the song continued to play and Luke's tranquility remained intact, he tried to answer himself as many questions as he could, even if they were few and with unsatisfactory answers.  
Although Luke never felt he had defined his sexuality, he always called himself straight, and now that he was trying to give it a more appropriate name he couldn't think of anything that would make him feel like himself.

A new question arose within him;

What difference does it make?

What difference does it make if he doesn't know his sexuality? It should not be anyone's business but his.  
What if he didn’t know how to identify himself? It wasn’t necessary.  
He had a whole life to find out, and even if in his last years of life, even if in his last breaths he still didn’t knew, it was nothing bad.

For now, he just had to accept what he knew.

He was in love with a boy.

He was in love with Eugene.

It was love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually write about personal things, but as a queer girl with an ambiguous sexuality this was really nice to write, I've always loved to write about things i can relate.  
> I still don't want to make this too personal but if you are a person that can't label themselves in a sexuality or identity, i want you to know that that's okay! If you don't know what you are or how to label it, it's fine! You don't owe that to anybody, you have a whole life to discover it, and if you never do that is also okay. We humans spend too much time trying to fit in and to label ourselves, but that means nothing if you don't feel comfortable with it. It's fine if you don't know!  
> I also wanted to tell you guys that the song Luke was listening is "Ultimately" By Khai Dreams! This song has been my comfort song for a long time now (hence the name of the fanfic lol) You don't have to listen to it if you don't want to, obviously, but in my opinion it's a song worth listening to!  
> Once again, if you see any grammar mistakes please let me know! <3
> 
> Also... I don't know if I should make another work with the 'original' language of the story for those who speak spanish lol.


	7. Can I call you tonight?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He did talk to somebody about those feelings,  
> And it was a really long night for him.

It was impossible for him to avoid the looks his family was giving him at the family dinner, on the one hand his sister saw him as if he were an alien, his mother saw him with a worried face, and his father only gave him a quick glance before ignoring his existence and continuing to eat his food.  
It was no secret that Luke had been somewhat upset lately, but at dinner that night the boy seemed to contradict how his body looked; He had dark circles, red eyes, unkempt hair, and a wrinkled sweatshirt. Yet there was a big smile on his face and his attitude was calm and lively.  
The boy had just come into terms with his undefined sexuality and with that feeling so intense that had harassed him the recent weeks, of course he was going to be happy.  
As soon as dinner was over, Luke started to go up to his room when his mother took him by the arm with the intention of knowing what was going on in his head.

\- "Hey Lukey... I just wanted to make sure you're okay?"-

Luke seemed somewhat confused - "What do you mean?"-

\- "Well... lately you've been a bit quiet and upset… I wanted to know why" –

The boy looked into his mother's eyes, brown and full of concern. Luke always appreciated his mother's heart and how she could know exactly what a person was feeling and thinking. He didn’t want to lie to his mother but it would be quite difficult for him to explain what was going through his head when he barely entered into terms with what was bothering him.

\- "It's nothing... just stress from school..." - He tried to give her a comforting smile, which started to fade after he realized his mother was not buying the obvious lie.

\- "Tell me what's wrong... Don't lie to me Luckey if you did something wrong you can tell me" –

Luke was still amused by the nickname his mother gave him years ago thanks to a funny anecdote. The boy felt he should lie to her, but after thinking a bit more about the situation he realized that it would do him good to talk to someone about what had kept him awake for countless nights, and who better than his friendly mother. They sat on the bottom step of the stairs, his sister was on the first floor doing god knows what and his father was watching television as he usually did so he knew they wouldn’t be interrupted.  
However, Luke didn’t know how to start, should he "come out"? is this one of those situations? How was he supposed to come out if he didn't have a defined sexuality? Should he make up an excuse?

Faced with the confused face her son gave, she began to speak.

\- "Tell me... is it a love problem?" - A knowing smile appeared on her mother's lips as she rested her face in her hand, waiting for an answer from Luke. He felt his cheeks turn red. She had guessed right.

\- "Uhm... yes...?" –

-"I knew it! Tell me, who is the lucky girl?"-

At the use of the word "girl" Luke was paralyzed, he didn’t know how to continue so his face paled and he looked away at the wooden floor at his feet, he could focus on the slight stains on the floor to avoid this conversation.  
He heard a ‘Gasp’ from his mother - “Don't tell me… She rejected you!? Or broke up with you? Is that why you were so sad? ”- Her hand was now over her mouth as if trying to hide the surprised expression on her face.

The fact that his mother continued to assume things made him more anxious.

\- "No!... I mean... I still haven't told… them..." –

Her mother's shocked face now turned to one of confusion - “And then? What is it that made you so sad? "-

\- "Uhm" - Sad? He wasn't sad... was he? Just confused and stressed. - "No... I'm not sad, it's just that..." –

Luke looked at his mother, an understanding woman who would love her children despite everything. He knew that she would accept him no matter what, that she would support him and that her vision of him would probably be the same. However, the courage he boasted of throughout his life was non-existent at the time. It seemed incredible to him how he could talk about anything with a stranger but not say something so important to his own mother.

He sighed.

He searched for the words by looking in various directions, from the white ceiling to his black pants, as if the words were scattered throughout his house and he was putting them together like a puzzle. Gathering all the courage he had and without looking at his mother in the eye, he said it.

\- "It's... it's a boy" –

\- "What?" - She looked at him as if she had misheard, probably not with bad intentions but Luke's courage was quickly crumbling, so before thinking he said it loud and clear.

\- "The... the person I like... is a boy" –

Luke still wasn't looking at his mother, his gaze was embedded in the white wall in front of him, he would look at anything to avoid that gaze.

\- "Oh..." - Now it seemed that she was the one who was looking for the right words - "That means you are..." –

\- "I don't know... I just know that I like him ..." - He didn't like him, he loved him. It was different, but he felt like he wasn't ready to tell her that. - "I thought you should know" –

\- "Oh, Lukey..." - His mother hugged him, and he buried his face in his mother's shoulder. - "Honey ... thanks for telling me, you know that I’ll love you always no matter what."- Luke felt like he could cry, but he didn't want to anymore. He had already shed enough tears that night.

After that confession the boy felt lighter, like he had just got rid of a weight in his shoulders, telling someone those feelings that had suffocated him so much was liberating, and being accepted and understood by his mother made a big smile appear and be present on his face for the rest of the night.  
He also talked a while more with his mother about how that boy made him feel, how happy he felt that afternoon where they held hands while they were smelling flowers, how beautiful he was under the moonlight... and so on. His mother laughed slightly when she saw how his eyes lit up when talking about him, she could swear he had heart-shaped eyes.

-

Now he was in his bed listening to the soothing song over and over again on repeat without being able to get tired of it and turning the volume down every time he felt like he was about to fall asleep. It was when he felt his heavy eyelids and that dreamy feeling that he prepared to take off his headphones and turn off the song, but when he turned on his screen he only found that message sent hours ago by the boy who that night became the center of his thoughts.

He had left him on read.

Luke's desire to sleep quickly vanished, leaving instead a feeling of guilt; He knew that Eugene was an anxious person so he didn’t want to imagine what he could be thinking after he had left him on read for several hours, and to this fact it’s necessary to add the strange behaviors that Luke had had lately.  
He took the phone and placed it in his hands, the song started again and in the left corner of the screen it said "10:57 PM". They never used to talk at such hours on weekdays, when they should be at school the next day, but the boy was still willing to answer something, however minimal.  
He could have responded with an emoji, a simple 'thank you' or he could even have liked his message, but his creativity arose and he decided to send another song, he thought for a while looking through his Spotify lists again and again searching for a song that could fit the situation and after a while his eyes went over that name, from a song that a distant friend had passed on to him a few months ago. Even if those kinds of songs weren't his musical taste, Luke was mesmerized by the song, 'Can I call you tonight?' glowed on his screen and now it was ringing in his ears, he wanted to call him and hear his voice.

After a few minutes of doubt and thinking about whether he should add something to the message, he simply decided to send the link of the song without anything accompanying it, hoping that the boy was awake and willing to comply with what the title of the song said, that he called him.

Not even 5 minutes had passed, Luke was about to close his eyes and surrender to the tempting pillow on his head and the soft sheets at his side when the light on his phone lit up and began to vibrate indicating that someone was calling him, he looked at the screen in doubt; the name 'Euge' was the only thing that appeared next to the symbol to answer or reject the call and even though it was him who proposed the plan now he seemed to regret it, his finger was wandering with the dubious intention to accept the call, and after a few seconds he doubtfully answered, not knowing what to say.

Silence.

\- "Hey...?" - Luke started. He didn't know why he wanted to call him now that he was thinking clearly, maybe he was half asleep.

\- "I heard... I heard the song." –

Oh but how soft was his voice. The same as always, the same tone he always used, the slightest stutter in his sentences. It hypnotized him.

He was quiet for a few seconds only appreciating the beautiful voice of the boy on the other side of the call, he thought about how he would be right now; Maybe he was getting ready to go to the office, maybe he wasn't planning to go today, or maybe he was awake the same way Luke was, thinking about each other and those suffocating feelings.

Did Eugene feel those intense but suffocating feelings too?

\- "And I heard yours." –

Once again a silence arose between them, it was not like those comfortable silences, but it wasn’t uncomfortable either; it felt like a hush of anticipation, as if they were both hushing up something and waiting for the other to make the first move.

\- "It helped me a lot..." - Luke continued, trying to take the first step in what felt like a minefield. -"Thank you"-

Perhaps he should have waited until tomorrow, to talk face to face about whatever they should talk about, because in front of Eugene's silence Luke became anxious and wanted to be with him, to be able to read his facial features and know if what he was saying was right.

\- "I'm sorry to call you... well, I'm sorry to ask you to call me so late" - Luke added again. - "It's just that I forgot I left you in read and I felt bad..." - He tried to relax the atmosphere and dispel some of the anxiety with a remarkably forced laugh.

\- "Luke" –

He didn't dare say a word, anticipation shot up inside him and the seconds that followed after the mention of his name felt eternal.

\- "Luke" - He repeated, apparently waiting for an answer.

-"Yes…?"-

\- "I... I wanted to talk about... about... what happened before..." –

Before?

\- "In... In my house" –

In his house?

-"…In my bed…"-

For some reason, the way he said it made shivers run through his entire body, now understanding where the situation was going and without being very clear about what excuse he should make up given the situation.

\- "I... I'm sorry if... if I made you feel uncomfortable or... I... I didn't... I wasn't thinking... and... I really..." - His stutters were worse than ever, he seemed unable to find the words or to convey what he wanted.

Was he apologizing? Because of that sudden closeness? That moment happened because of Luke, or so he thought. It was him who looked at his lips with desire and drew dangerously close to then turn away and retract his own action.  
But now that he thought about it, did Eugene want to, too? The question came up again; Did they both share those stifling feelings for each other? Those butterflies giving a party in his entrails, that fire that spread through his cheeks, that warmth caused by the contact of their bodies, those intrusive dreams... Did he feel them too?

Were they both locked in feelings that seemed to have no way out?

Eugene was still getting stuck with his own words and didn’t manage to express what he wanted, although Luke had already understood a long time ago and other doubts entered him just when that night he managed to get rid of some.  
But what should he do? What should he answer? Should he admit that the closeness was his fault in the first place? Should he say that he didn't care? Luke was just getting into terms about being in love with Eugene, he couldn't admit the same night and in such a short time the possibility that those feelings were reciprocated and on top of that make a move. Maybe the best thing was to remain friends...?

He didn’t know what to say, what to answer.

\- “I… What I… I mean…. What I wanted to do… that is, I wasn't going to… do it unless… unless… you…”- Eugene's voice seemed to tremble more as the words left his mouth and his hesitation didn’t help him express clearly. Luke should have interrupted him and said something, but he didn't know what to say or how, so he kept quiet.

-"…Just…! Forget it!... I'm... sorry... I'll go now... "-

-"No! Wait! ”- Luke said before thinking. After the silence reappeared once again on the call he realized that Eugene was going to leave and then he would have to face him the next day at school, which would be much worse.

\- "Just... I know what you mean, I understood it from the beginning, it's just that..." - He still hadn't found the words nor was he sure about what he was going to say.

\- "I... Didn't call you to... well I didn't make you call me... Whatever!" - He thought what to say before continuing, taking the silence of the boy on the other side of the call as an indication that he was still listening. - "What happened in your... in your bed, we'll talk about it tomorrow or whatever. Today I called you because…”- Why did he call him? -"I just wanted to hear your voice."-

He heard a little gasp from the other side, like he was surprised.

\- "It's just that... I was going through a few confusing moments and... man, you're my best friend, I just... needed to talk to you about anything" –

After a few seconds of silence, Eugene answered.

\- "What... What do you want to talk about?" –

About everything, if it’s with you.

And so they spent the night. Hours talking about whatever. Luke was being illuminated by the light from the window of his room, the light of the moon and the cold wind of the night that came through his open window leaving a pleasant feeling in the room. Eugene's small laughs caused a smile to emerge on his face and his cheeks to redden just imagining how the boy would be looking on the other side, probably smiling the same way as he did and maybe with red cheeks too.

\- "Oh! And there was this time where Oliver tripped and threw his lunch all over Joy! It was really funny knowing that he was trying to impress her! ”- Now Luke was telling him one of the anecdotes where Oliver tried to win the Joy’s heart, it was an immemorable time for the trio of friends, Luke found himself laughing out loud while Eugene's laugh simulated a whisper.

\- "He... really?" - He paused a few seconds to calm his laughter. - “How embarrassing! If that happened to me in front of the person I like, I would probably never show my face again! ”-

Doubt crossed Luke's mind again. Was there a possibility that it was mutual? Were those furtive glances and accidental brushes not only his own fault? Luke smiled, he was always a risky person, and what he was about to do could fill his chest with hope or destroy how much he had grown that night, that long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy so yeah next chapter tomorrow! I just cut this chapter in two since it became really long lol also I don’t really like cliffhangers.  
> The song ‘Can I call you Tonight?’ is from Dayglow! I didn’t really look very much onto the meaning of the song I just used it for the name but it still is one of my all time favorite songs so feel free to check it out!  
> As always, if you see any grammar mistakes please let me know!


	8. Shaky breaths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The long night keeps going and an 'eventful' day comes right after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy!! Remember this continues right after last chapter I just cut the chapter in half.

\- "So... Do you like anybody?" - Luke asked with a lump in his throat but showing a smile that framed all his hope.

A silence appeared, probably caused by Eugene after realizing that he had revealed “confidential” information.

\- "I... Uh..." - It seemed that he was going to choke on his words once more, but after a few seconds in which he seemed to process what he was going to say he continued. - "Uhm... yes, I like someone" –

The word "Someone" said it all. He didn't say "a girl", so the next thing he was going to ask was just to make sure.

-"Seriously…? How is she?"-

\- "She... Uhm..." –

At the silence that followed, Luke smiled to himself in the darkness of his room. He knew it.

\- "It's not... I don't like... I don't like girls" - He said in an insecure tone, with apparent fear of what his friend would say.

\- "Really?" - He feigned surprise trying to use the friendliest tone he could so he didn't misunderstand his tone.

\- "Uhm... Yes... I... I'm sorry if it's weird or..." –

Before he could continue babbling Luke cut him off almost without thinking. -"It's okay! I don't like girls either! ”- He thought the words once they left his mouth and a feeling of regret quickly appeared inside him. He had barely gotten into terms with himself and was already telling the person who made him question in the first place, what was he going to say? That he discovered it a few hours ago? That he was the cause of that discovery? Should he just lie? He wasn’t even entirely sure about how he felt about girls! - "Uhm..." - He let out almost by accident, a complaining sound hinting that what had just come out of his mouth was an accident.

\- "...Really?" - An almost incredulous tone was accompanying the phrase, he could imagine Eugene surprised on the other side of the call, with his thin eyebrows raised in surprise and his mouth carved in a soft "o".

\- "Uhm... Yes..." - Now, to his own surprise, it was Luke who couldn't make sentences.

\- "Do... Oliver and Joy know?" –

\- "No... no one knows... I discovered it recently..." - His mother knew but he felt that she didn’t count. - "That's why I’ve been so confused and stressed lately" –

The silence that once again was formed in the call was broken by a sufficiently audible laugh from Eugene, Luke was surprised but accompanied his friend's laugh with his own.

\- "Now we have something else in common!" –

And so more hours passed. Talking about themselves and about things they didn't know about each other, Luke felt closer to Eugene after that and felt that every day they discovered more and more things about the other.

\- "Shit!" - He heard with surprise, Eugene usually didn’t curse. -"It’s 3am! Boss is going to kill me! Sorry Luke I’m gonna hang up! "-

Little laughter and farewells flooded the call, as if they were both trying to prolong the call as long as possible.

-"Goodbye!"-

\- "See you tomorrow, Luke!... Well... today... I suppose...? See you in a few hours! "-

\- "Bye!" - Luke kept saying goodbye. After hearing the tone indicating that the call had ended and as he saw the clock ticking past 3am, he said in almost a whisper, - "Love you..." –

Almost as if to torture himself, or to feel delight while giving himself hope.

And then he slept well, in peace. Entering the land of dreams almost immediately and with the voice of that boy in his head along with the slight sound of his breathing on the call, remembering the warm breath against his lips that he felt hours before in that boy's bed. In his dreams he reappeared so he didn’t have time to miss him. He appeared with a warm smile and in an exotic place, directing furtive glances in his direction with red cheeks.

\--

That morning he woke up again with dark circles which were becoming more and more accentuated, becoming a common feature on his face, but this time they were accompanied by the smile on Luke's face and his cheeks that flushed at the thought of the boy.  
Not many things had changed, there was no way that in one night all his questions could be answered; But he felt that in the hours he spent asking questions to himself, he got to know himself better and learn more about who he was, making him understand once and for all what he felt for his friend.  
However, while those doubts dissipated, others were formed; would it be reciprocated? Did Eugene look at him with the same eyes in the same way? Did he also spend sleepless nights just trying to keep the touch of their hands in his memory?

Luke didn't know, but he was sure he wanted to and he was going to find out.

Upon arriving at school that day he was greeted by several smiles and greetings from friends and acquaintances who recognized that his mood had improved and that little by little the energetic and outgoing Luke was coming back to life if he wasn’t already present, first, a group of girls Luke had known months ago greeted him with friendly smiles and innocent questions, as well as pointing out Luke's dark circles without malice. Followed by that he met some friends he used to play basketball with, a group of tall, burly boys who were intimidating but kind-hearted and very friendly, worried about the sudden change in their friend, and last but not least were Oliver, Joy, and Eugene who looked at each other with happy faces, without asking too many questions and only rejoicing for the good humor of their friend.

But now he couldn't help but look at him.

Seeing him and recognizing the furtive glances he gave him in small moments in class, feeling the small frictions initiated by the boy next to him, hearing the timid voice coming from his lips every time he talked to him. Maybe it was his head playing tricks on him or he could even be hallucinating from the lack of sleep, but he could recognize those actions and movements since they were the same Luke did when he was close to him.  
In the first recess he could clearly see Eugene's slight dark circles, and as they went to the schoolyard Oliver and Joy deviated to an unknown place leaving the 2 boys alone.

\- "And... what did Boss say?" - Luke began, wanting to hear the soft voice of the boy next to him.

\- "Huh?" –

\- "I mean, we went to bed late last night" - He regretted almost immediately how he phrased it. - "I mean, you left the call saying you would be late for the office" –

\- "Oh!... Well, the boss wasn't there when I went to sleep, it was quite late after all, so I didn't go to work yesterday... I should apologize today" –

He didn’t fully understand the whole thing about the office and the ghostly world his friend was involved in, but he would ask him about anything in order to continue the conversation and listen to his sweet voice for a few more minutes.  
As they walked through the corridors in that sea of people he felt his fingers lightly brush against Eugene's, so the already so usual action of taking his hand appeared in his mind but when he tried to take his hand... he pushed it away.  
Luke searched his eyes for traces of shame or confusion, but he only saw a face that he was unable to read; what had changed? Had he done something wrong? Did he say something he shouldn't have on that call hours before?  
Before Luke could continue asking questions to himself Oliver and Joy arrived with some sandwiches and drinks which they began to eat once they reached the yard and the 4 of them sat on one of the benches together. Luke noticed how the couple was holding hands and a feeling of envy was born inside him, 'lucky bastards' he thought, as he looked at his empty hand and the one of the boy next to him holding a soda can.

\- "By the way Luke I saw you talking to one of those basketball guys"- Oliver mentioned as he lowered the can of soda from his mouth. - "I was wondering if you could introduce someone to my sister." –

\- "Since when does your sister want a boyfriend?" - He asked. He didn't really know the blond boy's sister very much, but he did know that she was a quite reserved person.

\- "I don't know dude, lately she's been obsessed with having a boyfriend, I really don't understand it" –

\- “True. You should have seen her yesterday, she almost started to cry "- Joy added.

\- "Although I don’t know who I could introduce to her... Maybe Aaron..." - Thanks to the recent conversation he could now think of something more than his empty hand.

The course of the conversation had changed, and he didn’t know at what point he ended up doing an oral essay on the benefits of basketball and how many people used it as a method to find a partner.

\- "And... how long have you been on the basketball team?" - Asked Eugene

\- "Well, a few years ago I think..." - Luke was counting with his hand while trying to deduce the answer. - "I guess at least about 3 years..." –

\- “Wow! It's... it's a lot... you must be very good... Someday I want to go to one of your games! "-

One of yesterday's daydreams crept into his head like a memory. An exited Eugene sitting on one of the benches while making a heart with his hand as he was rooting for Luke in one of his matches. His cheeks flushed slightly.

\- "Well... there is a game next week... maybe on one of these days you could see me practice too..." - He was glad that the couple next to him had been distracted and started talking to each other, as Luke only witnessed the timid tone in his voice once the words were out of his mouth and he was sure that if his friends heard him they would have laughed out loud. It felt like he was asking him out on a date.

-"Seriously? Can I go? ”- His friend's excited tone made the smile on his face expand and a shaky sigh leave his lips.

\- "Sure!... If you’re free tomorrow you can see me practice after class! You can even play if you want as well”-

Eugene laughed shyly - "I'm pretty bad at sports... especially basketball..." –

It was obvious that he was referring to his short stature. - "Well, I could teach you..." –

The two of them continued talking for a while on the bench, then Oliver and Joy joined the conversation again to begin to criticize Luke's abilities in sports, bringing with them funny anecdotes that made the group laugh.  
However, Luke returned to focus on that void that he found in his hand, thinking about what it was that made that boy decide to put his hand away, holding hands was never a problem in the past and he could even swear that he had seen him smile every time they held hands.

And so the day passed, looking at his hand and missing his touch.

A few hours before he was almost sure that those feelings were reciprocated, but that gesture had demotivated him. He could be exaggerating and he knew it, he was probably exaggerating, but it made him start to question more and more as he was supposed to be solving a chemistry exercise in class. Did Eugene share those feelings? Or maybe he was imagining those loving looks and romantic gestures? He began to think about those small and intimate moments that they had often shared lately; in the Ferris wheel where a blackout interrupted them, when Eugene said goodbye to him while being a ghost, which resulted in a kiss on the cheek, and the most recent; in the boy’s bed just a day ago.  
He was sure that the action was initiated by both of them, that Eugene was also approaching his direction. Although this time who interrupted the scene was Luke.  
But what would have happened if he hadn’t retracted? He was almost completely sure that he knew the answer. But he wanted to hear it from Eugene.  
As was usual for Luke he lost himself in his thoughts once again for the entire duration of school, inattentive in his classes and casting furtive glances at the boy next to him which were sometimes reciprocated.  
Quickly, the classroom room was being emptied after the bell rang, the students were leaving little by little including Oliver and Joy who almost immediately ran out together holding hands. Luke was sure he didn't want to know where they were going or what they were going to do.

\- "The... the song you sent me last night... it was very good..." - Eugene said as he was getting ready to leave.

Luke gave a little laugh, he hadn't thought about it much - "I really didn't give it that much importance, I thought it would be an original way to start a call" –

\- "It was" - He replied as he sat back in his seat.

The classroom was now empty and the key to lock it was not on the teacher's desk, perhaps that day it was the janitor who would close the classrooms, so since there was no one in the room they could stay and chat a while longer.

\- "I also really liked that song you sent... It really helped" –

There was a silence in which Eugene seemed to be thinking what to say.

\- "About last night... you said you were confused... if you want you can tell me about it, you know...?"-

Luke sighed. Now that he recognized his feelings for the hooded boy it was impossible for him to resist that kindness and concern accompanied by a pretty face that looked at him expectantly.

He fell, he fell hard.

\- "I just..." – The boy looked into his eyes with the intention of listening to every word that would come out of his mouth. - “I wanted to talk about what happened at your house yesterday… I mean… What didn't happen… I… you know…” - He couldn't find the words either, but when he turned to face Eugene he found him with a pale face and a nervous laugh escaped his lips once the silence appeared.

\- "Uhm..." - Eugene had stood up from his seat and moments later he began to walk slowly towards the exit. The other boy also got up and was walking on his heels when just after walking through the door the boy with the hood now down started running through the hallways of the school.

He was trying to escape! Why? Luke also ran through the hallways without thinking too much.

\- "Eugene! Wait! ”- But he didn't stop. They crossed corridors and went downstairs, it seemed that the boy wanted to leave the school.

But then his steps slowed down and he stood in the middle of the hallway, Luke caught up to him and took him by the arm but Eugene seemed to be distracted by something else, and that's when he heard it.

Steps.

They were probably from the headmaster, principal, or from some teacher who was walking around.

-"Who's there?! Children! You should be at home! It's late!"- Said a voice.

He didn't know why he did it. They could have been caught because after all the worst thing that could have happen was to be scold and sent home, but Eugene dragged Luke to one of the nearest doors hoping they were of some classroom so that they could go unnoticed and not be caught, however, now they were in a narrow janitor's closet next to brooms and mops, side by side touching each other thanks to lack of space. It wasn’t a classroom.

Understanding the situation, they both looked into each other's eyes.

\- “I… I'm sorry! I don't know what I was thinking... "- The disheveled boy said in almost a whisper as he looked away.

And the truth is that now they couldn’t leave. If they went out and that person passed by, they wouldn't know how to explain to him what the two of them were doing in a janitor's closet, alone, agitated and nervous. It was better to wait.  
But Luke didn't miss opportunities. So trying to calm his breathing, he tried not to concentrate on the closeness they shared, their chests touching, his face in the middle of the shorter boy's hair, his hands inches from the boy's ... He preferred to look at his surroundings; brick walls along with black metal shelves with cleaning tools and supplies, long brooms and mops in an empty wheeled bucket.  
He searched for the words before saying them, so he began to speak in almost a whisper.

\- "About what happened yesterday at your house..." –

\- "Do you think it’s the time?!” - Eugene seemed slightly annoyed, something not very common in him. However, he couldn't wait any longer.

-"It is! If I don’t ask now, you’ll run away later! "- The boy next to him frowned without contradicting him.

\- "What do you want to talk about...?" –

He looked at him in the eye trying to find his gaze, which wasn’t happening since the boy next to him tried everything to avoid seeing him in the eye. -"You already know"-

\- "...Is that why you left?" - He asked.

\- "No… It’s… I was confused" –

\- "Was that what confused you?" - Now he did look at him in the eyes with a slightly flushed face.

He sighed.

\- "... Yes" - They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds. - "But... what were you going to do at that time?" –

He wanted to hear it from him. He wanted him to admit it.

Maybe he was a coward for not taking the initiative and for making this cruel move instead, but he wanted to hear it from him.

-"I wasn’t…"- He didn’t finish the phrase.

He could feel his breath on his face, they both looked into each other's eyes and again, as many other times they found themselves inches from each other, warm breaths colliding and gazes silencing thousands of words, both feeling the warmth of each other's body as they tried to disguise the rapid beating of their hearts and their shaky breaths.  
And he saw it, he saw those eyes looking at his lips, that look full of desire that looked at him as if he were unattainable. His own sight also slid to the boy's lips, and as if they were both magnets, their faces stuck together and their lips found each other in a soft but intense touch.  
Luke's lips moved shyly against Eugene's as they both closed their eyes in an attempt to intensify the contact. His eyebrows furrowed and his hands went to the boy's neck as he savored the seconds that pass. It felt so familiar; like those little frictions they shared but in a more intensified and intimate way. He felt the boy's hands taking him by the nape of his neck and drawing him closer to him, intensifying the kiss. He could feel his cheeks burning and the way his chest began to hurt because he had wanted it too much, he hadn’t even dreamed of such contact so he didn’t want to let go, even if the air began to lack and his mind seemed to cloud over just enjoying the tingling feeling that started on his lips and spread throughout his whole body.

Gently, Eugene parted his lips, leaving them inches apart. Both still looking at each other's mouths without changing position.

Luke could feel the warmth radiating from the boy's cheeks beside him and the irregular, shaky breaths they shared that made his skin crawl.  
They looked into each other's eyes after pulling away completely, still completely flushed and agitated.  
They could hear someone's footsteps passing just outside the door, but they were so focused on looking into each other's eyes that they didn't notice. They tried to read each other, looking for answers in those wide eyes and red faces, but their gazes were only directed towards each other's lips. Another kiss made their faces come together again but this time in a tender kiss, Eugene took him by the arm as if he feared he was going to disappear and Luke could feel himself smiling in the kiss, causing the other boy to smile too, pulling away from the kiss and laughing lightly, they both ended up giving whispered laughter as they looked at each other with smiles on their faces in the slightly dark closet. Luke could make out his tousled hair, his red cheeks, and his glasses tilted slightly to the left.

He felt Eugene take his hand as he spoke in a husky, whisper-like voice; - "We should... get out" –

But he didn't want to get out, his eyes only went to the lips of the boy in front of him. In the same way he knew that they had to go, their backpacks were still in the classroom, so he nodded and they left the closet looking around for signs of any witnesses, and after not seeing signs of life they headed towards the stairs holding hands and with stealthy steps as they laughed lightly and shared knowing glances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mhm yeah intense It finally happened !!  
> I don't really have much to say except that this is one of my first times writing (spoiler) a kiss lol so I used a lot of references from books I've read  
> Now that I think of it you could say that they came out of the closet haha (sorry)  
> Also as always if you see any grammar mistakes let me know!! <33


	9. Knowing glances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just two dudes, kissing on the lips

Now they were running down the street.

Shaky breaths accompanied by a silence interrupted by their laughter and the sound of their feet hitting the concrete. Nobody was following them, however it seemed that they wanted to expend the adrenaline that ran through their bodies.  
They’d left the school after silently sneaking through the school’s hallways with silent steps and knowing glances as they looked from corner to corner until they reached the classroom to take their backpacks and leave in the same way, holding hands.  
Not a word had left their lips after what happened in that closet, maybe they were still in shock about what happened or maybe they wanted to keep the moment, it was probably a mix between the 2 things.  
They had finally reached the park and were quickly settling on the 2 swings while they appreciated how the sky turned orange and violet tones accompanied by pink clouds with light stars in the background as the sunset would flow. Both boys gave each other knowing glances while laughter escaped their smiles and they swayed slightly on the swings.  
Luke let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding back as he looked at the boy next to him; He saw his disheveled hair, his big glasses now fogged and tilted to the left, his clothes wrinkled and out of place, and a single bead of sweat running down his face. All this accompanied by his shaky breaths as he tried to recover from the race.

\- "You're a mess" - Luke said as he looked at him mesmerized, along with a smile and a small laugh.

Eugene looked in his direction almost immediately and looked at him in the same way for a few seconds.

\- "You're a mess!" - He replied as he leaned towards Luke's swing.

Their eyes met, both shining in the growing darkness. His breaths were beginning to calm.  
He thought of his eyes a hundred times, memorized all his expressions, watched every little movement he made, and romanticized every mistake he’s ever done. His world seemed so much bigger and more interesting every time he was with him.  
It seemed impossible to take his eyes off him, and it seemed impossible to think about anything other than the boy next to him, from his little habits to his expressions, from his little hobbies to strange behaviors that just made sense today.

And the truth is that he could no longer imagine a life without him, and in part he was grateful for that.

\- "I think I'm in love with you" - Luke said with an unsure face. Maybe he said it very soon and it was likely that the other boy didn’t feel the same way, but he was someone who said what was on his mind, and at that moment, after kissing the boy of his dreams and having him so close, it was the only thing he could think of. The smile on his face didn't move anywhere but he could see a tone of concern in his own words, as if loving was a bad thing.

Love. That’s a strong word, isn’t it? what even is love? There are many answers to such an ambiguous question. Perhaps love is based on total trust towards someone, perhaps it is based on the time shared. Some people interpret love as the need to be with someone every second of the day, while others think that love makes you free, and that distance or closeness don’t make a difference.  
Each person usually has their own interpretation of love so each of the definitions that people have in their head are correct, and Luke believed that such a word was the ideal to describe what he felt.  
Beside him Eugene had his eyes wide open, his face now flushed not only from fatigue, and his mouth was slightly open.

\- "In... love?" - He seemed incredulous.

\- "I mean... I could be wrong but it's just that..." - He looked at him in the eye. - "You are all I can think about" –

The boy next to him laughed as he looked away and his flushed face was slightly illuminated by the stars and the moon that was beginning to be noticed in the darkness of the night.

-"Why are you laughing? I really think so. ”- Luke gave a little laugh, although he was confused.

Eugene let out a sigh as his face turned redder and tried to hide it by putting his hands on his face, with an evident smile.

\- "You're so dumb" - He said barely audible thanks to the fact that his arms covered his mouth.

\- "Whaat?" - Luke replied, faking annoyance.

The disheveled boy got up and stood right in front of Luke, still covering his face.

\- "How can you say that as if it were nothing?" –

He dropped his arms, revealing a big smile, cheeks flushed, and his eyes looking down at the floor.

\- "It's just that... I am" - In love.

And while he looked at his flushed cheeks and heard a slight laugh, he asked.

\- "You don’t… love me back…?" - He didn’t pretend that the boy would reciprocate, he knew that perhaps he was moving too fast.

But he no longer knew what to believe after the boy in front of him looked into his eyes in such a way; denoting too many feelings to be able to explain, with a brilliance that he had never seen in them before.

-"…I do"-

Now it was Luke who wanted to put his hands on his face to hide his blush, maybe it was the way so shy but sure in which he said it, maybe it was the big smile he had on his face, but it was probably the fact that it was mutual. He felt how his heart skipped a beat and how he let out a slight sigh as he looked into his eyes, illuminated by the night.  
He stood up from the swing and faced him, now they were standing inches from each other.

\- "...You really do?" –

\- "...I think... I think so...?" –

After the recent strange tension formed and the silence that once again accompanied the pair, they began to laugh.  
This time it was Eugene who initiated the kiss; standing on the tips of his feet to reach the taller boy who took a step back in surprise but who closed his eyes with a smile after a few seconds.  
It was a short kiss, but they both seemed satisfied.  
They could have stared into each other's eyes all night, but the shorter boy broke the comfortable silence that had arisen.

\- “So… We’re like… not… Friends anymore…?” –

\- "What do you mean?" –

\- “I mean… you don’t… kiss… your friends… do you?” –

\- "No, I don't think so" –

And then Luke understood.

\- “Wait! Are you like… asking me out or something? ”-

Eugene laughed as he took his hand.

\- "Maybe I am..." –

Luke was surprised, his cheeks turned a reddish hue as his heartbeat quickened. It was strange that that disheveled boy acted that way, so carefree and only saying what came to his mind. He liked that part of him.  
After a few seconds in which the taller boy was completely stunned, he came back to reality.

\- “WHAT ?, I MEAN, YES?! Yes I would like to be your boyfriend! ”-

Boyfriend, he had never seen himself being someone's boyfriend, much less having one.

\- "Wait, does this mean I get to call you cute nicknames?" – Luke continued

\- "... What?" - Eugene saw how Luke took his other hand.

\- "I can start calling you things like baby or puppy, right?" –

\- "Please don't" –

\- “Don’t worry, you can call me kitten if you want” –

The playful tone of the conversation was good enough for both of them to laugh in the middle of the night, under a beautiful starry sky.

\- "No! That is so embarrassing”- Eugene kept complaining with a smile.

\--

After a few minutes of laughter, small kisses and knowing glances between the new couple, Eugene decided to guide them to a place known to them and not far from that small square.

\- “Oh hello kids! I was about to close, do you want something? ”- The already familiar face of the kind lady was accompanied by the different fragrances that the flowers released within that place, fragrances that intermingled so much that they could no longer be individually distinguished.

-"Hi there! We wondered if you’d have... "-

Eugene didn't let him finish - "A bouquet with each kind of flower!" –

Linda let out a pleasant laugh.

-"Sure!"-

Now they were leaving the flower shop with a large bouquet of flowers of various scents and colors, both sharing knowing glances as they held hands.

\- "And what do we do with this now?" - Luke pointed to the bouquet.

\- "We could give them to the ghosts!" -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy!! I hope you didn’t forget about this fanfic lol.  
> Sorry It’s has been so long and this is such a short chapter, I haven’t had much time to write things lately.  
> I probably won’t be able to post a new chapter next week either, sorry about that! But I just want to let you guys know that I won’t be cancelling this fanfic nor I plan on having a hiatus, I just need some time!  
> Thanks for your patience and as always if you see any grammar mistakes let me know! <33

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> I made this in Luke’s pov, so we can kind of see his perspective on a few events of the game.  
> I just wanted to clarify; English is not my first language! (I think I’m fairly good at it, but anyways) That is why, if you see any grammar mistakes I would like to apologize and please write down a better way to put it!  
> I also have no idea where this is going I just wanted a fanfic about this two characters and as I saw there were next to 0 I decided it was my duty. This is also my first story!


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